OAN’s Brooke Mallory
4:42 PM – Thursday, May 23, 2024
As the 2024 election approaches, with former President Donald Trump stepping up to the debate stage soon alongside Joe Biden, Senate Republicans who aren’t exactly known for being passionate supporters of Trump are currently debating whether to attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this July or to avoid it entirely.
Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) are four Senate Republicans who have already told news outlets like The Hill that they will not be attending the convention.
They reportedly informed The Hill that they do not intend to attend the event in July to commemorate the former president’s coronation.
Additionally, Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) are five others who have also said they were still unsure about whether or not they will be attending.
“Everybody’s got to make their own call about it, but it’s part of our political life,” said Senator John Thune (R-S.D.). “The conventions have been going on for a long time, and I think the parties are tasked with trying to pull people together and make the decisions that are important to the leadership of our country.
“I understand if there are people for whom it is not a big priority,” he added.
Young and Murkowski both mentioned having trip arrangements during that week, although they did not specify what they were.
In addition, given the mutual contempt that exists between Romney and Trump—whom he twice voted to convict in impeachment proceedings—the Mormon senator never planned on attending.
In a brief interview, Tillis stated that although he has not made up his mind, he is “probably not going to go.”
“I’m just not a convention-goer, quite honestly. Back in the state, we have races to run. We’ll be represented,” Tillis said. “There’s other competing priorities that week that I have to sort out before I make a decision.”
Collins stated that she must first review her calendar and that she has not made a definite decision yet.
Cassidy also said that he has not yet decided, but he did tell The Hill to ask him the same question closer to the convention.
However, during Trump’s second impeachment trial, both Collins and Cassidy voted in favor of Democrat efforts to convict Trump for alleged “involvement in the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.”
Although Rounds has expressed that he has no intention of attending, he said that he might change his mind if Trump chooses a running partner he likes. During this cycle’s presidential primaries, the South Dakota Republican was a fervent supporter of Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), but he also mentioned Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as someone he would endorse as well.
“Yeah, it might,” Rounds said, after being asked if Trump selecting Scott would convince him to show up. “If we could go and support his candidacy, that would be something I would really take a hard look at. … I haven’t got any hotel rooms yet, but that doesn’t mean I might not in the future.”
Meanwhile, Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alaska.) chimed in on the topic as well.
“I don’t know why there would be a debate [about going]. Are they not concerned about our country? This isn’t about the president, this is about our country,” said Tuberville, the first Republican member to back Trump’s 2024 campaign.
The Republican National Convention will be taking place from July 15th, 2024 – July 18th, 2024.
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