Grothman’s coughing fit at GOP event goes viral
Wisconsin congressman Glenn Grothman broke out into an unmasked coughing fit at the microphone of his speech at the GOP state convention in Green Bay on Saturday.
“Let’s talk about Donald John Trump,” the U.S. representative from Wisconsin’s Sixth Congressional District said as he began to cough uncontrollably. After several seconds, Grothman regained composure and adjusted his tie.
Despite health officials’ warnings against large gatherings, Wisconsin Republicans held a scaled-down convention in Green Bay on Saturday.
Sitting close together, mostly without face masks, the state GOP provided a contrast to Democrats, who turned their state convention into an entirely virtual event.
Grothman, who is 65, falls in a high-risk category for COVID-19 complications. He has publicly signaled optimism about the trajectory of the pandemic, appearing at public events without a mask and sharing statistics about falling COVID-19 death rates.
The video of Grothman’s coughing spell has been widely shared online, attracting more than 3 million views and catching the attention of his colleague, Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin’s Second Congressional District.
“Just wow.” Pocan tweeted in response to the video.
State Sen. Chris Larson of Milwaukee also commented on Grothman’s coughing fit, criticizing Trump supporters for gathering in crowds without masks.
“With all his supporters avoiding masks while crowding together in groups, this is quickly going to become the official way to say Trump’s name,” Larson tweeted.