Trump to NC Gov. Cooper: Give Me Assurances GOP Convention Can Operate at Full Capacity or We’ll Move It
As it stands now, the Republican National Convention is scheduled to take place in Charlotte, North Carolina from from August 24th through the 27th. But President Trump issued a warning to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper this morning that he either needs to provide assurances the convention can operate at full capacity, or the convention will be moved elsewhere.
Here’s what Trump wrote in a Twitter thread to Cooper:
I love the Great State of North Carolina, so much so that I insisted on having the Republican National Convention in Charlotte at the end of August. Unfortunately, Democrat Governor, @RoyCooperNC is still in Shutdown mood & unable to guarantee that by August we will be allowed...
...made by many thousands of enthusiastic Republicans, and others, to head to beautiful North Carolina in August. They must be immediately given an answer by the Governor as to whether or not the space will be allowed to be fully occupied. If not, we will be reluctantly forced...
As it stands right now, North Carolina is in “Phase 2” of the so-called reopening plan. Phase 3 would not start until late June at the earliest, depending on whatever metrics the Governor and other state officials decide to go by at the time to determine if it can start (as I’ve noted before, the standards they use to determine whether or not to proceed on to the next phase of reopening tend to change without notice or warning):
NC moved into Phase 2 of lifting #COVID19 restrictions at 5 p.m. Friday, May 22. Phase 2 runs through at least Friday, June 26, unless changed or canceled. For a quick reference guide about the differences in Phases 1 and 2 go to: files.nc.gov/covid/document… #StayStrongNC
Phase 3 could begin as early as June 26th, but it’s highly unlikely that could allow for crowds of more than 1,000, let alone 20,000. Honestly I’m curious if there’s any state open to welcome thousands of out-of-state travelers and pack them into large space. @ABC11_WTVD #ncpol twitter.com/realdonaldtrum…
North Carolina GOP party chair Michael Whatley responded to Trump’s tweets by encouraging Trump to stick with the original plan:
The @NCGOP is excited to rollout the red carpet and welcome @realDonaldTrump and the @GOP to Charlotte. We can have a safe Convention in NC and nominate President Trump for #FourMoreYears #NCGOP twitter.com/realdonaldtrum…
A lot of prep and background work has already been done in advance of the RNC, as reported by WSOC-TV’s Joe Bruno:
So that leads us to today- the city is actively preparing to host #RNC2020. Phase 2 would permit it in a limited capacity. We could be in Phase 3 in June. It would likely be extremely challenging to find another location that can accommodate this event. It’s 90 days away
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, a Democrat, took a considerable amount of heat from her party over Charlotte’s decision to pursue hosting the convention in the first place, and some Democrats on the city council wanted Charlotte to back out of the city’s commitment to host the convention altogether after the “send her back” chants at a Trump rally in Greenville, NC last year. The city council ultimately voted to condemn the remarks after the city attorney said backing out of the convention would be a very costly legal endeavor.
Gov. Cooper’s spokesperson issued a statement this morning in response to Trump’s Twitter thread:
While Cooper was one of the few Democrats encouraging the RNC to bring their convention to Charlotte in the first place, he is exactly the kind of Democratic governor who would do something like force the RNC to move the convention at the last minute, and it would have nothing to do with virus concerns.
Stay tuned.
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