Three More GOP Senators Announce They Won’t Be Attending Trump’s Super-Spreader Convention

Three more senators confirmed on Tuesday that they will not be attending Donald Trump’s super-spreader convention in Florida next month, according to a report from The Hill.

According to the report, “Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) will not attend the GOP convention next month in Florida.”

The news comes as Florida is seeing a surge in coronavirus cases across the state, which could complicate the president’s plans to hold a convention without any masks or social distancing.

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An aide for Collins noted that she was never planning to attend the GOP convention because she does not go when she herself is up for reelection. Collins is in a tight race this year that could be pivotal in determining who holds the Senate majority in the next Congress.

Spokespeople for Romney and Murkowski didn’t immediately respond to follow up questions about whether their plans were related to the coronavirus, as the country sees an increase in cases.

Both senators have had high-profile clashes with Trump; Romney was the only Republican senator to vote to impeach the president earlier this year, while Murkowski opposed ObamaCare repeal and Supreme Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.

The list of no-shows will likely grow

Sens. Romney, Collins and Murkowski are just the latest Republican senators to announce they won’t be taking part in a convention to formally nominate Donald Trump as he seeks a second term.

As PoliticusUSA’s Jason Easley wrote on Tuesday, GOP Sens. Chuck Grassley and Lamar Alexander have both said they won’t be at the event either. Grassley said the virus is the reason he’s staying away, while Alexander wouldn’t say.

The list of no-shows is likely to grow as some Republican senators, including Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rob Portman of Ohio, have said they aren’t sure whether they’ll be attending.

It’s one thing to publicly pretend Trump is qualified to be president of the United States, as most Republican lawmakers have done for the past four years.

But as the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across the country, a growing number of Republican senators clearly aren’t willing to put their lives on the line for Donald Trump.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.