Trump threatens to pull convention from N.C.
President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to yank the Republican National Convention from Charlotte, North Carolina, where it is scheduled to be held in August, accusing the state’s Democratic governor of being in a “shutdown mood” that could prevent a fully attended event.
The president tweeted that he had “LOVE” for North Carolina, a swing state that he won in 2016, but he added that without a “guarantee” from the governor, Roy Cooper, “we would be spending millions of dollars building the Arena to a very high standard without even knowing if the Democrat Governor would allow the Republican Party to fully occupy the space.”
Trump wrote that if Cooper did not provide an answer “immediately,” he would “be reluctantly forced to find, with all of the jobs and economic development it brings, another Republican National Convention site. This is not something I want to do.”
Separately, in an interview on “Fox & Friends,” Vice President Mike Pence said that without guarantees from North Carolina, Republicans might need to move the convention to a state further along in the reopening process.
Trump has wondered aloud to several aides why the convention can’t be held in a hotel ballroom in Florida, a state with a Republican governor that is further along in relaxing restrictions related to the coronavirus.
In his interview on Fox News, Pence listed Florida, as well as
Georgia and Texas — two other states with Republican governors — as possible host states.
Republicans are contractually bound by a 2018 agreement to hold the convention in Charlotte. But Cooper and Vi Lyles, the mayor, have said they will let health experts determine whether the convention can be safely held Aug. 24-27.
In a statement, Dory MacMillan, an aide to Cooper, said: “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. North Carolina is relying on data and science to protect our state’s public health and safety.”
In North Carolina, where Republican lawmakers have pressured Cooper to speed up the end of social distancing measures, a modified “safer at home” order took effect Friday as the state entered phase 2 of reopening. The order allows restaurants to open at 50% capacity and permits outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people.