House Republicans are offering hilariously transparent excuses to avoid meeting with Trump

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House Republicans' excuses for skipping their Thursday meeting with Donald Trump are about as good as the kid without a pet saying his dog ate his homework. For instance, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) gave the painfully vague excuse of a "longstanding appointment downtown." Another GOP lawmaker insisted he had a scheduled doctor's visit at the time the party's presumptive nominee was slated to meet with congressional Republicans on Capitol Hill. And, Politico reports, another lawmaker mysteriously had a "breakfast meeting" pop up on his schedule:

A third [congressman] said he had a "breakfast meeting." The member — who asked not to be named — then pulled out his schedule for Thursday morning. When he saw that there wasn't any event on his schedule, the member took out a pen and wrote "Breakfast meeting" on it. "See, I have one!" he joked. [Politico]

Granted, there are plenty of House Republicans who are planning to show up to the meeting, and some even see it as a "positive step," Politico reports. But still, the implications are grave: If Trump can't even get members of his own political party to show up for a morning meeting, how does he plan to get them to show up in November?

Read the full story on what Politico calls the "biggest day of the election cycle so far" for congressional Republicans here.