President Donald Trump threatened to find a new site for August’s Republican National Convention (RNC) if North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) can’t guarantee “full attendance” as the state slowly reopens amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The president attacked Cooper in a series of tweets, saying he is in “Shutdown mood & unable to guarantee that by August we will be allowed … full attendance in the Arena. In other words, we would be 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.”
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…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2020
…full attendance in the Arena. In other words, we would be 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. Plans are being….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2020
The president added that Republicans and others who plan to attend the convention “must be immediately given an answer” by Cooper “as to whether or not the space will be fully occupied.”
He added: “If not, we will be reluctantly forced to find, with all of the jobs and economic development it brings, another Republican National Convention site.”
…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…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2020
…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. Thank you, and I LOVE the people of North Carolina!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2020
North Carolina “is currently in Phase Two of its coronavirus reopening plan,” according to The Charlotte Observer, which noted that indoor gatherings “are limited to 10 people.” The publication notes that before the pandemic, the RNC “was expected to bring 50,000 people to Charlotte for events connected to the convention.”
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.