President Trump plans to move the Republican National Convention from North Carolina over the state’s refusal to lift social guidelines that keep distance from the corona virus.
Trump tweeted that he is now “forced” to look for another country to host the event after the state’s governor, Roy Cooper, said it was “unlikely” that guidelines would be relaxed in time for the convention to proceed as planned in Charlotte this August.
“Governor Cooper is still in Shelter-In-Place mode, and does not allow us to occupy the arena as anticipated and promised,” Trump said. in a series of tweets.
“Will show off beautiful North Carolina to the World, and bring hundreds of millions of dollars, and jobs, to the State. Because of @NC_Governor, we are now forced to look for other countries to host the 2020 Republican National Convention. “
Cooper said the GOP wanted to package 19,000 delegates, alternative delegates, staff, volunteers, elected officials and guests “in the Spectrum Center. He could not guarantee a meeting of that size during the pandemic in a letter dated Tuesday that he sent RNC chairmen Ronna McDaniel and Marcia Lee Kelly, CEO of the party convention.
“We have committed to the safe RNC convention in North Carolina and it is unfortunate they have never agreed to scale down and make changes to keep people safe,” tweeted Cooper in response to Trump’s Twitter announcement. “Protecting public health and safety during this pandemic is a priority.”
Trump has been pressing Cooper for weeks to guarantee the Spectrum Center can be filled for events scheduled for the week of August 24, while the governor has refused to budge.
The president did not specify where he would prefer events to be held, although governors in countries such as Texas and Georgia previously said they were happy to host.
