Trump skeptics planning to skip the GOP convention
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah). Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
GOP senators who have held off on endorsing Donald Trump as the party's presidential nominee are planning to skip the upcoming Republican National Convention, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: President Biden is the one in hot water with his party right now. But there are still Trump holdouts in the GOP — and not just Nikki Haley, his rival in the primaries who wasn't invited to the convention.
- Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine), Todd Young (Indiana), Mitt Romney (Utah) and Rand Paul (Kentucky) are all skipping the party's convention, according to the senators or their offices.
What they're saying: Most cited conflicting home-state or out-of-the-country commitments as reasons for passing up the convention, which kicks off Monday in Milwaukee.
- "I always go to my state convention. I don't see the national convention as being that important for me," Collins, who also skipped the 2020 RNC, told Axios.
- Asked why he wouldn't attend, Paul told Axios, "I'm busy."
- Murkowski simply replied, "nope" to a question about whether she'd be there.
The intrigue: Paul — who, unlike the others on the list is not a moderate Republican — endorsed Trump in 2016 and 2020 but has held off this time around.
- Paul even gave a speech supporting Trump at the RNC four years ago in which he said he was "proud" of Trump's work as president, adding, "Our occasional policy differences are far outweighed by our significant agreements."
- But there has been a growing rift between him and Trumpworld, as Axios has reported.
Zoom out: Sen. Jerry Moran (Kansas) said he tentatively plans to go to the convention even though he won't endorse Trump. "I don't endorse candidates," he said. "Never have."
- Sen. Thom Tillis (North Carolina), has endorsed Trump but cited a a "prior personal commitment" as the reason he won't be in Milwaukee.
Between the lines: Republicans are trying to project an image of party unified behind Trump to draw a sharp contrast with Democrats, who continue to wrangle over whether Biden should step aside as their nominee.
- Most Republicans have fallen in line behind Trump.
- Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) and GOP Senate Whip John Thune (South Dakota) — who leveled harsh criticisms at Trump over his actions on Jan. 6, 2021 — have come around.
- But as Haley showed during the GOP primaries by consistently capturing double-digit percentages in states even after she dropped out of the race, a significant number of Republicans still refuse to back Trump, who now controls the party.
