Republicans are rolling out the excuses to skip Donald Trump’s midterm convention, which the president has organized in a desperate attempt to give the GOP a much-needed election boost.
Trump is set to headline the second day of the televised event in Dallas next week in an attempt to galvanize voters amid continuing expectations that the GOP is going to suffer an electoral wipeout in November’s crucial elections.
However, at least 45 Republican candidates and members have told Politico they will skip the Sept. 9-10 event, dubbed “Trumpapalooza,” with dozens still unsure whether they will bother to attend.
The lawmakers have come up with an array of excuses, from wanting to remain in their districts to campaign, prior arrangements, the eye-watering $25,000 entrance fee, and a desire to distance themselves from the deeply unpopular president to boost their election hopes. One House Republican said they are not attending the event because it will be a “waste of time.”
“You shouldn’t be having to rally your base at this point,” the House Republican told Politico. “You should be trying to convince independents. Independents are not attending nor watching the midterm convention.”
Rep. Tom Barrett, who is fighting to retain his competitive Michigan seat in November, said he will not be attending Trump’s convention because he feels he would be “more useful in my district.”
“I travel a lot for this job and if I can be back home and see my family and do the job back home as well, then that’s sort of what I lean toward doing,” he said.
House Republicans are well aware that intense voter backlash to Trump’s second term—including the war in Iran and rising gas and food prices—could affect their chances in the midterms.
Some are also concerned that, rather than using the convention to boost Republicans’ election hopes, Trump will waste his headline appearance by rambling on about his personal obsessions, such as his White House ballroom, or dismissing the affordability concerns faced by tens of millions of Americans.
“I can’t control what the president’s going to say at the convention, but I can control where I’m at, what I’m doing,” Rep. Barrett said.
Several other House members said they cannot come to Dallas because of prior family or campaign engagements.
Reps. Chris Smith of New Jersey and Andrew Garbarino of New York said they will remain in their districts to take part in events related to the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole said he will be going to a dove-hunting event in Oklahoma rather than attending Trump’s convention.
House Speaker Mike Johnson will be at the convention and still expects a decent attendance in Dallas. However, he admitted at a Tuesday news conference that many House Republicans will want to remain in their districts because “it’s a critical time right before early voting begins nationwide.”
There is also the issue of who will actually want to watch the event on television. Both nights of the convention will coincide with the first two games of the NFL season, which are guaranteed to draw a bigger primetime audience.
“It raises the question of whether the timing is somewhere between ill-conceived or just not conceived at all,” Joshua Blank, research director for the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, told The Hill. “It seems more like a reaction to concerns about enthusiasm among Republican voters. It’s more of a reaction than it is a clear plan.”
The White House referred a request for comment to the Republican National Committee.
“The outreach and enthusiasm to attend, participate, and speak at this historic midterm convention has been incredible, from members of Congress to Republican candidates to everyday Americans,” RNC National Press Secretary Natalie Baldassarre said.
“Republicans across the country are rallying behind President Trump’s America First agenda that’s brought lower drug prices, lower taxes, and a secure border, and this convention will provide the momentum needed to expand our majorities in November.”
