Republican governors offer states to host gathering
WASHINGTON — Two GOP governors are offering up their states to host the Republican National Convention — a day after President Donald Trump threatened to pull the convention out of North Carolina if that state’s Democratic governor doesn’t assure him that the August gathering can go forward despite coronavirus fears.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp sent an open plea to Trump on Tuesday to consider his state as an alternate site for the quadrennial convention, which is set to gather more than 2,500 delegates and thousands more guests, press and security officials. Plans have been underway for more than a year to hold the convention in Charlotte, but Trump and national Republican officials have expressed concerns that local officials may not allow gatherings of that size during the pandemic.
“With world-class facilities, restaurants, hotels, and workforce, Georgia would be honored to safely host the Republican National Convention,” Kemp tweeted Tuesday. “We hope you will consider the Peach State, @realDonaldTrump!”
Kemp’s offer was followed by one from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who told reporters at a Miami news conference that he “would love” to have the GOP or even the Democratic convention, as either would bring millions of dollars to the state. The Republican governor said if Trump decides to move the GOP convention, it presumably would have to abide by any federal health guidelines and Florida would do its part to uphold them.
“The door is open, we want to have the conversation, whether RNC, DNC, whatever, because I think it will be good for the people of Florida,” DeSantis said. The Democratic convention is scheduled to be held in Milwaukee, and party officials have said they are evaluating contingency options, including a potential virtual convention, as a result of the virus.
Trump on Tuesday complained anew that North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper wouldn’t yet guarantee that the convention could take place as scheduled.
“We have a governor who doesn’t want to open up the state,” Trump said of Cooper, suggesting his hesitance was the result of political differences. “He’s been acting very, very slowly and very suspiciously.”
Trump reiterated that he hopes to have the convention in Charlotte but needed certainty “within a week” or he would be forced to consider alternate sites.
“A lot of locations want it,” Trump said.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the president is monitoring virus transmission data and “wants to see this convention take place and sees no reason not to as the nation begins to reopen.”
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the president “is right to ask for assurances from North Carolina” about the convention.
“We want to have it in North Carolina, the president wants to have it in North Carolina,” she told Fox News on Tuesday morning. “It’s just the governor. He has to work with us. Every state we talk to says we want to nominate the president here, but this governor is up for reelection and hasn’t given us the reassurances we need. We need to be able to move forward in a concrete way. We are going to have those discussions.”
The Democratic mayor of Atlanta, Georgia’s capital and by far its largest city, said in a statement Tuesday that its reopening plan doesn’t mesh with Kemp’s offer to hold the convention in Georgia.
As it tried to nail down convention plans, the Trump campaign announced it was promoting two veteran political aides to senior leadership roles. Bill Stepien, the former White House political director, will serve as deputy campaign manager, the campaign said. Stephanie Alexander, a regional political director, will become the campaign’s chief of staff.
The pair bring additional political experience to the campaign’s upper echelon, which is led by campaign manager Brad Parscale, a relative newcomer to national politics who ran Trump’s digital effort in 2016.