{mosads}Since announcing earlier this week that she was opting against attending the convention in Charlotte, McCaskill has looked to push back against suggestions she is trying to distanc herself from President Obama, who is unlikely to carry her state in November.
But the Missouri senator told MSNBC Wednesday that she was “absolutely not” trying to move away from the president.
“I’ve asked the president to come campaign in Missouri,” she said.
The Republican National Convention suggested in an email Tuesday that Democrats were seeking cover by skipping the convention.
“After being a top Obama surrogate, a primetime speaker at the 2008 Dem National Convention, and doing a 2008 video saying Missouri needs to elect Barack, Senator Claire McCaskill announced today she will not attend this year’s convention proving even Barack Obama’s best friends don’t want to be seen with him as his party nominates him to run for a second term,” RNC spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski said in an emailed statement.
But McCaskill called the accusation “just stupid.”
“Everyone’s trying to make this a big deal and narrative. It’s just stupid,” she told MSNBC.