Mitch McConnell May Skip The GOP Convention
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) suggested he’s not certain about attending next month’s Republican National Convention in Florida due to the coronavirus.
“It’s a challenging situation and a number of my colleagues announced that they’re not going to attend, and we’ll have to wait and see how things look in late August to determine whether or not you can safely convene that many people,” McConnell told the Cincinnati Enquirer on Thursday when asked whether he planned to go.
In recent weeks, McConnell, who is 78, has become one of the GOP’s loudest cheerleaders for wearing a mask, even as President Donald Trump continues to not wear one.
The GOP convention, where the president will formally accept his party’s nomination for a second term, is slated to be held in the city of Jacksonville in late August. The event was initially supposed to take place in Charlotte, North Carolina, but Republicans moved it after local officials refused to relax social distancing measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, talked today in Kentucky about his stance on whether he will attend the Republican convention in Jacksonville, Florida. @Enquirer pic.twitter.com/m9Onp0pvzQ
— Chris Mayhew (@reportermayhew) July 9, 2020
Several Republican senators have already announced they will not attend the convention, citing health risks and prior commitments in their states.
“I’m not going to go. And I’m not going to go because of the virus situation,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who is 86, told reporters on Monday, per The Des Moines Register.
Other senators skipping the event include Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Mitt Romney of Utah, and Pat Roberts of Kansas. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has said he is unsure about attending the convention.
The health risks could give additional Republican senators facing tough...
