--- title: Republican Convention: What Donald Trump Critics Did Monday description: As Republicans gathered in Cleveland to nominate Donald Trump, some of his critics had other plans. canonical: https://time.com/4411811/republican-convention-ben-sasse-marco-rubio-john-mccain/ author: Will Drabold article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-19T00:32:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:48:38.902Z article:section: Politics og:title: What Republicans Not Going to the Convention Did og:description: Picking corn, talking about algae blooms, meeting with veterans. og:url: https://time.com/4411811/republican-convention-ben-sasse-marco-rubio-john-mccain/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6274829ea8714ca1/69889c692dce0187cf9e9e4c/rnc_convention_floor_opening.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Republican National Convention: Day One og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Republicans Not Going to the Convention Did twitter:description: Picking corn, talking about algae blooms, meeting with veterans. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6274829ea8714ca1/69889c692dce0187cf9e9e4c/rnc_convention_floor_opening.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Republicans Not Going to the Convention Did Monday by [Will Drabold](https://time.com/author/will-drabold/) ## Will Drabold Jul 19, 2016 12:32 AM UTC  Delegates from Virginia chant for a rule call vote on the first day of the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Delegates from Virginia chant for a rule call vote on the first day of the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.John Moore—Getty Images by [Will Drabold](https://time.com/author/will-drabold/) ## Will Drabold Jul 19, 2016 12:32 AM UTC As Republicans gathered in Cleveland to nominate Donald Trump, some of his critics had other plans. Former rival Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, [now running for re-election](http://time.com/4378093/marco-rubio-reelection/), spent the day in Fort Myers, Florida, talking about [algae blooms that have threatened](http://time.com/4394608/florida-algae-bloom-satellite-images/) the state’s waterways. > [](https://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/755083216558575616) Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, one of the most goal supporters of the Never Trump movement, spent the day detasseling corn—removing pollen producing flowers from the tops of corn stalks. > [](https://twitter.com/BenSasse/status/755118707433537536) And Arizona Sen. John McCain, who was [mocked by Trump during the primary](http://time.com/3964229/donald-trump-john-mccain-war-hero-apology/) for having been captured in Vietnam, skipped the convention to campaign in a tough reelection fight. > [](https://twitter.com/SenJohnMcCain/status/755174122137812992) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4411811/republican-convention-ben-sasse-marco-rubio-john-mccain/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4411811/republican-convention-ben-sasse-marco-rubio-john-mccain/"},"headline":"What Republicans Not Going to the Convention Did Monday","datePublished":"2016-07-19T00:32:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:48:38.902Z","description":"As Republicans gathered in Cleveland to nominate Donald Trump, some of his critics had other plans.","url":"https://time.com/4411811/republican-convention-ben-sasse-marco-rubio-john-mccain/","keywords":["Republican National Convention","2016 Election","Sen. 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