Biden will not travel to Milwaukee convention to accept Democratic nomination, report says
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will not travel to Milwaukee to formally accept that honour later this month at the Democratic National Convention, multiple media outlets have reported.
The former vice president will instead deliver his acceptance speech from Wilmington, Delaware, where he lives.
While the Democratic National Convention, slated to run from 17 to 20 August, has been reduced to a mostly virtual event, Mr Biden had previously still planned to fly to Milwaukee to deliver his speech.
"From the very beginning of this pandemic, we put the health and safety of the American people first. We followed the science, listened to doctors and public health experts, and we continued making adjustments to our plans in order to protect lives. That's the kind of steady and responsible leadership America deserves. And that's the leadership Joe Biden will bring to the White House," Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said in a statement, CNN reported.
The news of Mr Biden's decision to stay in his hometown to accept his party's presidential nomination broke on the same morning Donald Trump confirmed speculation he would "probably" use the White House's South Lawn as the setting for his speech accepting the Republican nomination.
Giving such a speech at the White House would expose Mr Trump's White House aides to an array of ethical questions and potentially put them in violation of the federal Hatch Act that prevents a political candidate from using government employees and property for campaign purposes.
“We’re thinking about it. It would be the easiest from the standpoint of security,” Mr Trump said in an interview with Fox & Friends when asked about the possibility of delivering his nomination acceptance speech from the White House.
“We’re thinking about doing it from the White House because there’s no movement and it’s easy,” he said, also noting that a speech from the White House would cost less money.
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