Texas seen as backup if GOP moves convention
President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to yank the Republican National Convention from Charlotte, N.C., where it’s 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.
Separately, in an interview on “Fox & Friends,” Vice President Mike Pence listed Texas, Georgia and Florida — states with Republican governors — as possible replacement hosts.
Pence said that without guarantees from North Carolina, Republicans might need to move the convention to a state such as Texas that’s further along in the reopening process.
The New York Times reported last week that Republicans quietly were discussing the possibility of a pared-down convention, and Trump has wondered aloud to several aides why the convention couldn’t be held in a hotel ballroom in Florida.
The president tweeted that he had “LOVE” for North Carolina, a swing state he won in 2016, but added that without a “guarantee” from Gov. Roy Cooper, “we would
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 doesn’t give 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.”
Republicans are contractually bound by a 2018 agreement to hold the convention in Charlotte. But Cooper and Mayor Vi Lyles have said they’ll let health experts determine whether the convention, set for Aug. 24 to 27, can be safely held.
In a statement, Cooper aide Dory MacMillan said that “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 a second phase of reopening. The order allows restaurants to open at 50 percent capacity and permits outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people.
Cooper is up for re-election this year, and Charlotte, the largest city in North Carolina, is a critical area for him. More than a third of Charlotte residents are black, and Cooper will need robust turnout among black voters to get another term.
Even before Monday, Trump made clear that he would blame Cooper and Lyles, who’s also a Democrat, if the convention is albe tered or modified.
He told the Washington Examiner recently that he’s a “traditionalist” and wants a typical convention. The Republican National Committee’s rules call for an inperson convention, and party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel recently said a virtual convention isn’t under consideration.
Republicans helping to prepare for the convention have discussed options such as replicating the NFL’s recent virtual draft, but people involved in the planning stressed that if convention officials tried something like that, it wouldn’t be to supplant an in-person event.
By contrast, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has said his party’s plans to hold its convention in July are in question. He has raised the possibility of a pared-down convention in Milwaukee or even an online event.
“I plan on campaigning in Milwaukee,” Biden said last week. “And I hope there is a convention in Milwaukee. It may not be as robust a convention. It may be a social distancing thing. It may be smaller. I don’t know. I can’t ordain what that’s going to be, but I plan to campaign in Milwaukee.”