The Republican National Convention has been a sore spot of the 2020 election for months now, thanks to the special attention being paid to the coronavirus pandemic.
Donald Trump had himself previously insisted that the event be held sans-masks, and at full capacity. This is what drove the event out of North Carolina after the Tarheel State Governor refused to capitulate to the White House’s demands.
The convention was soon moved to Jacksonville, Florida in hopes of preserving the raucous and rowdy atmosphere.
Now, as the global coronavirus crisis continues, President Trump has made the difficult decision to pull the plug entirely.
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Republicans have scrapped plans to hold convention activities in Jacksonville, Florida.
The move is a striking turnaround for Trump, who moved the convention to Jacksonville after North Carolina’s governor raised public health concerns about having massive gatherings in Charlotte, as the GOP had long planned.
Pared-back events in Charlotte will still be held, Trump said.
Despite urges to ignore them, Trump was closely watching as several Republican lawmakers said they weren’t going to Jacksonville or were considering not going, a person familiar said. Trump was wary of having sparse attendance at the convention. Just a month ago, the Trump campaign was playing up expectations for a massive crowd at the President’s first rally since the pandemic began, but those crowds in Tulsa, Oklahoma, were much smaller than expected.
Concern over the coronavirus has increased in recent days, as states such as Texas and Florida battle an exorbitant second wave of the illness.
