A GOP campaign consultant revealed that Republicans across the country are looking to part ways with Donald Trump after defending him for almost four years. They worry that supporting a president whose poll numbers look worse and worse every week will hurt their reelection chances.
The GOP consultant spoke with USA Today about the matter and claimed that Republicans are “fed up” with Trump’s outburst and antics and may even skip out of the Republican National Convention.
According to Alex Conant, a GOP strategist, Republicans who are up for reelection are tired of having to deal with the increasingly unpopular president.
“There’s a real disagreement between the president and his party in this election,” Conant explained. “I think a lot of Republicans are really fed up with the president’s divisive strategy. People are just throwing up their hands with some of the rhetoric that’s coming out of the president. It’s really unhelpful not just to his own re-election, but also to keeping the Senate.”
As the report notes, many Republicans have already announced that they will be skipping out on the convention.
“Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the oldest GOP senator at age 86, said Monday he would avoid the convention ‘because of the virus situation,’ while Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, also cited coronavirus concerns as the reason they won’t attend,” USA Today reports, adding that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hinting he night not attend, calling the convention a “challenging situation.”
According to GOP strategist Matt Gorman, there are multiple reasons to avoid the get-together.
“For a lot of these elected officials, it’s a chance to go there for fundraising and press attention,” he explained. “And if a lot of media folks are not planning to go and a lot of donors choose not to go because in-person fundraising is a bit less prevalent, then there’s not much incentive to show up.”
“The administration’s mounting controversies have pushed even Republicans who previously refused to break ranks with Trump to begin speaking out – most notably as it relates to the dramatic uptick in coronavirus cases in the U.S.,” the USA report continues. “They have been vocal in their opposition to his refusal to wear a mask, pressuring the administration for increased testing and, most recently, some have criticized Trump for pulling out of the World Health Organization as the pandemic continues to ravage the country.”
Conant notes that Trump is aware that he is getting pushback, but that he has his limits.
“My sense is that Trump is fine with Republicans criticizing his policy, even his tweets, but he’s not OK with them attacking him,” he admitted
You can read more about the interview HERE.
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