Trump honors fallen soldiers

President tweets threats to pull GOP convention from NC

BALTIMORE — President Donald Trump honored America’s fallen service members Monday as he commemorated Memorial Day in back-to-back appearances in the midst of the pandemic.

“Together, we will vanquish the virus, and America will rise from this crisis to new and even greater heights,” Trump said during a ceremony at Baltimore’s historic Fort McHenry. “No obstacle, no challenge and no threat is a match for the sheer determination of the American people.”

The coronavirus pandemic also factored into the president’s campaign agenda, as Trump also threatened Monday to pull the Republican National Convention out of North Carolina if the state’s Democratic governor doesn’t immediately sign off on allowing a full-capacity gathering in August despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump’s tweets about the upcoming RNC in Charlotte come two days after North Carolina’s largest daily increase in virus cases yet.

On Friday, Gov. Roy Cooper moved the state into a second reopening phase by loosening restrictions on hair salons, barbers and restaurants. But he said the state must move cautiously, and he kept indoor entertainment venues, gyms and bars closed.

“Unfortunately, Democrat Governor, @RoyCooperNC is still in Shutdown mood & unable to guarantee that by August we will be allowed full attendance in the Arena,” Trump tweeted Monday.

He added that Republicans “must be immediately given an answer by the Governor as to whether or not the space will be allowed to be fully occupied. If not, we will be reluctantly forced to find, with all of the jobs and economic development it brings, another Republican National Convention site.”

Pre-pandemic, the GOP had estimated 50,000 would come to Charlotte for the convention based at and around its NBA arena.

Cooper’s office responded that state officials are working with the GOP on convention decisions.

“State health officials are working with the RNC and will review its plans as they make decisions about how to hold the convention in Charlotte,” Cooper spokeswoman Dory MacMillan said in an email. “North Carolina is relying on data and science to protect our state’s public health and safety.”

Vice President Mike Pence said Monday on Fox News Channel that convention planning takes months and suggested a state that’s loosened more restrictions could host. He praised reopenings in Texas, Florida and Georgia — all states led by Republican governors.

Calling Trump’s remarks “a very reasonable request,” Pence told Fox that “having a sense now is absolutely essential because of the immense preparations that are involved, and we look forward to working with Governor Cooper, getting a swift response and, if needs be, if needs be, moving the national convention to a state that is farther along on reopening and can say with confidence that we can gather there.”

Changing sites would be difficult for reasons including the contract between GOP officials and Charlotte leaders to hold the convention there.

In April, the City Council voted to accept a $50 million federal grant for convention security. Before the vote, City Attorney Patrick Baker noted the overall contract requires parties to follow applicable

laws and regulations, including Cooper’s executive orders. Cooper’s current order limits indoor gatherings to 10 people. Baker said then that GOP officials had discussed convention alternatives but did not elaborate.

Before Monday, Cooper and Trump had displayed little friction during the pandemic. While Cooper has urged the federal government to provide more testing supplies and protective gear, he’s avoided criticizing Trump by name.

Trump, meanwhile, has largely refrained from calling out Cooper as he has other Democratic governors.

Earlier, Trump silently honored the nation’s war dead at a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, which like Fort McHenry is off limits to the public because of the pandemic. Presidents on Memorial Day typically lay a wreath and speak at the hallowed burial ground in Virginia.

But the coronavirus crisis, soon to claim its 100,000th life in the U.S., made this year different.

Many attendees arrived wearing masks but removed them for the outdoor ceremony in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Trump, maskless as always in public, gave no remarks. He approached a wreath already in place, touching it and giving a salute.

Trump then traveled to Baltimore, to the chagrin of the city’s mayor, and noted that tens of thousands of service members and national guard personnel are “on the front lines of our war against this terrible virus.”

The U.S. leads the world with more than 1.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 98,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Trump said brave warriors from the nation’s past have shown that “in America, we are the captains of our own fate.”