U.S. President Donald Trump reacts during an event with Artemis II astronauts (REUTERS)
Conservative columnist and publisher Mona Charen says Republicans of all types are suddenly finding other things to do—anything, really—to not attend the Republican National Committee’s Trump-choked convention in Dallas.
Charen began her Wednesday comment on MS NOW speaking of the woman who told a man she couldn’t make it to a date because she was “washing her hair,” but when the man asked her about the next night she answered she’d be “drying her hair.”
“That is where the Republicans are vis a vis Trump,” said Charen, after speaking with numerous Republicans about attending the convention. “They weren't even attempting. Did you notice this? They weren't even attempting to come up with real excuses or, you know, there was nothing about how they were ‘having a debate’ or something like that. It was, simply, ‘I don't think so. I haven't made plans yet. I have to watch my son play football.’:
“I mean, it couldn't be clearer that they don't want to be associated with [Trump]. And the reason is very simple. Every midterm is a referendum on the sitting president. And so that president at the moment is so dragged down by his war and his tariffs and his other outrages that they know that he is a political weight around their ankles. And they're trying to get as far away from him as they can,” said Charen.
The midterm "convention" event in Texas would be charging nearly $89,000 to snag a photo with Trump, and a roundtable with Trump will cost $250,000. This pairs with the $25,000 that each elected official is being charged to attend the event. So, when CNN reporter Manu Raju asked congressional Republicans whether they plan to attend, those he spoke to made it clear that they need to be in their districts, focusing on their own elections.
Politics USA founder Jason Easley said Democrats could not hope for better timing for the GOP event.
“Donald Trump is the least popular president in the history of polling. Republicans who are running for House and Senate seats need to be getting as far away from this orange anchor as they can,” Easley wrote. “[But] no matter how much Republicans think that they can hold an election where Donald Trump is not the issue in their states and districts, the president continues to hijack the midterm election and make it all about himself.”
Charen agreed, telling MS NOW anchor Katy Tur that “unfortunately for [Republicans], they are stuck with him. They made their bed.”