Trump calls off Florida segment of GOP National Convention
WASHINGTON
(AP) — President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has scrubbed
his planned Republican National Convention scheduled for Florida next
month, citing a “flare-up” of the coronavirus.
Trump’s formal
renomination will still go forward in North Carolina, where a small
subset of GOP delegates will still gather in Charlotte, North Carolina,
for just four hours on Aug. 24. Florida was to have hosted four nights
of programming and parties that Trump had hoped would be a “four-night
infomercial” for his reelection.
“It’s a different world, and it
will be for a little while,” Trump said, explaining his decision. “To
have a big convention is not the right time,” Trump added.
Trump
moved the ceremonial portions of the GOP convention to Florida last
month amid a dispute with North Carolina’s Democratic leaders over
holding an event indoors with maskless supporters. But those plans were
steadily scaled back as virus cases spiked in Florida and much of the
country over the last month.
Trump said he would deliver an acceptance speech in an alternate form, potentially online.
Trump
said thousands of his supporters and delegates wanted to attend the
events in Florida, but “I just felt it was wrong” to attract them to a
virus hotspot. Some of them would have faced quarantine requirements
when they returned to their home states from the convention.
“We didn’t want to take any chances,” he added. “We have to be vigilant. we have to be careful and we have to set an example.”
In
recent weeks, Trump aides and allies have encouraged the president to
consider calling off the convention, advising him it was not worth going
forward with the event if the focus would be on the pandemic. Trump
acknowledged that consideration, saying, “I could see the media saying,
‘Oh, this is very unsafe.’”
More than 10,000 people were expected
in Jacksonville — already a fraction of the number that would attend a
normal convention. Only 336 delegates will be allowed to participate in
Charlotte under extraordinary procedures approved last month by the
Republican National Committee. The balance of the more than 2,500
delegates will vote by proxy.
Democrats will hold an almost
entirely virtual convention Aug. 17-20 in Milwaukee using live
broadcasts and online streaming, according to party officials. Joe Biden
plans to accept the presidential nomination in person, but it remains
to be seen whether there will be a significant in-person audience.
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on Trump’s announcement.