GOP Senators Skipping Trump Convention, Prefer Dumpster Fires And Lawn Maintenance

Nebraska Sen. Benjamin Sasse will be skipping the Trump convention later this month. The politician joined a host of other GOP lawmakers on Thursday in announcing his absence from the forthcoming 2016 Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

He won’t be the only one skipping. As reported by The Hill, the Republican legislator and 15 other GOP senators plan on skipping the convention. Likely declared as a dismissal of presumptive nominee Donald Trump, Sen. Sasse offered an amusingly surreal explanation via a spokesman for his nonattendance.

“Sen. Sasse will not be attending the convention and will instead take his kids to watch some dumpster fires across the state, all of which enjoy more popularity than the current front-runners.”

As mentioned by the Huffington Post in an article cataloging the skipping senators, the RNC is set to be its very own metaphorical “dumpster fire” this year. Amid the civic revolt against Trump within his own political party and Trump supporters’ reported proclivity for conflict, pundits are bracing for the worst when the delegation begins on July 18. Reporters are already predicting this year’s convention protests to be the most contentious since the ’60s.

Some siding with Sasse in skipping the convention are Republican senators Richard Shelby (Alabama), Ron Johnson (Wisconsin), Mike Enzi (Wyoming), Steve Daines (Montana), Lindsey Graham (S. Carolina), and Jerry Moran (Kansas).

Still others are skipping the convention under pretense of their own current reelection cycles. Even former Republican presidential contender Marco Rubio, the senator from Florida who bowed out of the race in March, is forgoing the convention in a campaigning attempt to retain his Senate seat. Earlier this year, Rubio insisted he’d be leaving the Senate at the end of his current term.

John McCain, Arizona senator and one-time Republican presidential nominee, will be skipping the convention as well. McCain also cites his Senate reelection campaign as cause to abstain. Perhaps the best convention skipping excuse, however, was lobbed by Sen. Jeff Flake, who offered the following gem of a horticultural evasion.

“I’ve got to mow my lawn.”

Not all Republican legislators will be skipping the convention — the latest reports indicate that the majority have pledged to attend. Those not skipping include senators John Cornyn (Texas), Rob Portman (Ohio), Roger Wicker (Mississippi), Mike Lee (Utah), James Inhofe (Oklahoma), and David Perdue (Georgia). Many senators not skipping are delegates themselves, like Thom Tillis (N. Carolina) and Mitch McConnell (Kentucky).

Convention skipping notwithstanding, Trump has already forged a combative relationship with lawmakers — provoked all the more since his vehement criticism of California federal judge Gonzalo Curiel in May. The judge, presiding over a lawsuit involving the former reality television star’s failed real estate education concern, Trump University, received the brunt of Trump’s ire during a San Diego campaign rally. Reportedly, the presidential competitor devoted nearly a quarter of his hour-long speech to disparaging Curiel. Trump tweeted his distrust of the judge that month.

I have a judge in the Trump University civil case, Gonzalo Curiel (San Diego), who is very unfair. An Obama pick. Totally biased-hates Trump

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2016

Sen. Sasse has used the “dumpster fires” line before, claiming in May that his town’s dumpster fires were “more popular” than Trump or presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Dumpster fires apparently being all the rage now, KMOV 4 News in St. Louis reported that over 50 dumpster fires were set overnight on July 4, many related to Independence Day fireworks. Sen. Sasse tweeted his support on Thursday of a fan saluting his refuse-torching rhetoric.

You're welcome.

MT"@TheOtherKeppler: Props to the guy who dared @BenSasse spokesman to use "dumpster fire" today. pic.twitter.com/nbByQka2N1"

— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) July 7, 2016

It remains to be seen what will transpire at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland later this month. Whether skipping the convention or not, some news sources claim Republican senators are attempting to force a contested convention. Other reports posit Trump as low on campaign funds to carry him to November.

[Photo by Sara D. Davis/Getty Images]