Donald Trump will not give his nomination acceptance speech in Charlotte, the site of the Republican National Convention this year, after North Carolina officials refused to promise letting up on social distancing guidelines for the event.
While the convention, where Trump’s nomination for reelection will become official, is still being held in Charlotte in August late, some of the staple events, like a speech from the president, will be moved elsewhere.
The main factor driving the move comes from President Trump’s desire to accept his party’s nomination for reelection before a massive, cheering crowd, especially after months of being cut off from holding his enormous campaign rallies in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump and the Republican National Committee have tentatively settled on Jacksonville, Florida as the alternative location, Republican officials briefed on the plan told The Washington Post in a report published Tuesday night.
Florida, where Trump changed his permanent residence to last year, ended lockdown this month and allowed beaches, bars, gyms and almost all other businesses to reopen and operate as normal after months of observing social distancing guidelines.
North Carolina is still in Phase 2 of its reopening plan – and officials in the state have not been able to promise that Trump will have his desired packed arena for the August 24-27 event.
Donald Trump and Republicans are floating moving the main festivities of the RNC Convention to Jacksonville, Florida after North Carolina refused to promise allowing a packed stadium for the days-long events
The desire comes for Trump to give his acceptance speech of his nomination to his usual massive crowd since he has been cut off from holding his rallies. Ironically, the last rally he held was in Charlotte, North Carolina – the original location for the Republican Convention
Despite states reopening and loosening restrictions, public health officials are still urging Americans to avoid big gatherings, wear face coverings and practice social distancing.
Trump is not happy with North Carolina’s position.
‘I don’t want to be sitting in a place that’s 50 percent empty,’ Trump told North Carolina Democratic Govnernor Roy Cooper in a call late last month when talking about the upcoming convention, two people familiar with the call told the Post.
‘We can’t do social distancing,’ Trump said on the call.
Cooper then asked Trump if he didn’t see the risk that posed to the health of the convention’s attendees, which could reach numbers around 20,000.
Trump told Cooper on the call that he isn’t worried about an outbreak there since the virus has the biggest impact on those who are older or have underlying conditions – suggesting older Americans and those with preexisting health problems would not be attending.
Details of moving the marquee events of the convention are still in flux to find a place that will accommodate for the large-scale multi-day festivities as Republicans are trying to determine if Jacksonville has enough hotel rooms and other accommodations.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, both Republicans, have been courting GOP and White House officials to move the convection to their respective states ever since it became clear North Carolina and the party were not seeing eye to eye.
Trump has spoken to DeSantis about moving the event in Florida.
Outside of Jacksonville, Republicans have also considered Orlando,Fla., Nashville, Tenn., Dallas, Texas, and Savannah, Ga. as potential convention locations.
Even with Florida reopening, Jacksonville remains under an emergency order that restricts certain businesses from opening, while bars, restaurants and movie theaters can operate at 50 per cent capacity.
Retail stories, gyms and fitness centers can reopen completely as long as social distancing protocols are followed.
Two officials told the Post that more routine and lower-profile events will still take place in the original host site of Charlotte, including smaller meetings.
The RNC would only do so in order to honor its contractual obligations with North Carolina and avoid any potential lawsuits for moving the larger events to another state.
While Republicans in the state are in favor of allowing Trump’s desired crowd to come for the events, they do not have the votes to override Cooper’s veto.
During a Monday news conference, he called the proposal ‘irresponsible’ and insinuated that state lawmakers do not have a role in the decision-making process.
‘What we need to do is continue our conversations with the RNC,’ Cooper, who is up for reelection next year, said in reference to the RNC.
The governor has also asked Republican officials to provide a plan for maintaining safety protocols at the convention – while they have vowed to use testing and aggressive sanitizing standard on rooms and buses, they have not offered specifics that satisfy Cooper.