White House? Florida? Trump ponders ideal speech locale
WASHINGTON – At first, it was going to be easy.
President Donald Trump was going to roll into Charlotte, North Carolina, and give a rousing speech to Republican delegates who nominated him for a second term.
COVID-19 derailed that plan. Then Trump planned to give his acceptance speech Aug. 27 at a sports arena in Jacksonville, Florida – and the pandemic thwarted that event, too.
A little more than three weeks out, the Trump campaign is scrambling to find a fresh option for what will probably be the most-watched speech of Trump’s reelection campaign.
Though the White House grounds have emerged as a favorite, advisers are considering historic sites in battleground states, mirroring an event July 3 when Trump spoke at Mount Rushmore, according to aides familiar with the planning.
Republican strategist Scott Jennings said the COVID-19 pandemic has created problems for every event planner, and the president’s reelection campaign is no exception.
“A lot of things have been thrown into chaos, so I’m sympathetic,” he said.
Trump promoted the virtues of the White House during an interview Wednesday on “Fox & Friends,” saying he would “probably” deliver the speech there, noting that the venue would be the “easiest” and least expensive option.
Trump said he was not “locked in” on that choice.
Trump is pushing for a big event for his acceptance speech Aug. 27. He said Wednesday that other speeches, including by first lady Melania Trump, would be delivered from different locations.
In weeks of meetings, aides said, advisers have tossed around a number of possible backdrops – the Liberty Bell, Gettysburg, the St. Louis Arch, a military facility – that could provide dramatic television pictures for Trump’s speech.
They have talked about a prominent battleground state, such as Florida or Pennsylvania.
Though some advisers are wary of Trump holding his speech in a city with a Democratic mayor such as Philadelphia, all of the potential sites outside the White House are shadowed by a familiar problem: COVID-19.
Many states have restrictions on crowd sizes and are wary of big events, so aides are looking for a unique way to present Trump’s speech. Trump hasn’t
“A lot of things have been thrown into chaos, so I’m sympathetic.” Scott Jennings Republican strategist
held a rally since his event in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June, which drew a lowerthan-expected turnout.
The acceptance speech, an opportunity for Trump to lay out a vision for his second term and reset a campaign struggling in battleground states against presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, is separate from the scaled-back convention business meetings scheduled in Charlotte.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions in North Carolina, a limited number of Republican delegates will hold small meetings designed to carry out essential party business, including the formal nomination of the GOP presidential nominee.
Trump is likely to attend the convention Aug. 24, the day of the nomination vote, but only to greet the delegates and thank them for their work.
Officials close to the president are interested in recapturing the energy they felt the president gained from the Mount Rushmore speech last month, a Republican with knowledge of the planning said on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal details.
One option that has been discussed is Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, site of a famed Civil War battle as well as the speech by President Abraham Lincoln honoring the dead and sanctifying the Union causes. Trump narrowly won Pennsylvania in 2016; polls show Biden with a single-digit lead there.
Aides plan “surprises” for the week leading up to Trump’s speech, including speeches from prominent Republicans such as Melania Trump. The first lady has rarely appeared on the campaign trail on her own or with the president.
If nothing works, Trump retains the reserve option: the White House.
It wouldn't be a first. In 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt delivered a speech via radio to the Democratic convention that nominated him for an unprecedented third term.
Some ethics groups might object to the idea of using the White House for such a political event. The Hatch Act forbids government officials from engaging in political activity on government property, though the president is exempt from that law.
The White House is considered a residence rather than an office building.
Jordan Libowitz, communications director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said, "Giving a political speech of this magnitude and visibility on the White House grounds creates the appearance that it's a government-sanctioned event, something multiple laws were written to avoid."
Aides plan ways to satisfy Trump's eagerness to get back out on the campaign trail. One likely way is an alternative form of the rallies to be held at airports with a limited number of boisterous supporters.