Trump threatens to pull GOP convention from Charlotte unless ‘full attendance’ allowed

President Donald Trump threatened Monday morning to move August’s Republican National Convention from Charlotte if the state is not able to commit to “full attendance” at the convention.

Vice President Mike Pence also said Monday morning the convention could be moved due to the pace of the state’s reopening process.

North Carolina is currently in Phase Two of Gov. Roy Cooper’s coronavirus reopening plan. Indoor gatherings are limited to 10 people. Before the virus, the RNC was expected to bring 50,000 people to Charlotte for events connected to the convention.

In a series of tweets, Trump demanded an immediate answer from Cooper, a Democrat.

In a statement posted to Cooper’s Twitter account at 10:45 a.m., about two and half hours after Trump’s tweets, Cooper’s press secretary, Dory MacMillan, said:

“State health officials are working with the RNC and will review its plans as they make decisions about how to hold the convention in Charlotte. North Carolina is relying on data and science to protect our state’s public health and safety.”

The Republican National Convention is scheduled for Aug. 24 to Aug. 27 at the Spectrum Center.

Trump’s tweets

“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 full attendance in the Arena,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

“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 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 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!”

The Republican National Convention organizers are scheduled to take over the Spectrum Center in mid-July for an extensive rebuilding of the venue, including raising the floor of the arena.

Charlotte City Council member Ed Driggs, a Republican, questioned Trump’s authority to pull the convention himself. Charlotte’s contract is with the GOP’s Committee on Arrangements.

He said he doubted that any other city could put together a convention now given the two-year process Charlotte has undertaken, including arranging a venue, hotel space and related contracts. Driggs noted that the City Council already accepted a $50 million federal security grant for the convention in April.

“I think this is the kind of thing that happens in politics, where, and particularly the president is known for dramatic gestures,” Driggs said. “I don’t know whether that tweet by him is supported by the Republican Party and all the people with whom we have been in negotiation for a couple of years.”

Pence, in an appearance on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends,” said Trump was making “just a very reasonable request of the governor of North Carolina.”

“We all want to be in Charlotte. We love North Carolina. Having a sense now is absolutely essential because of the immense preparations that are involved, and we look forward to working with Gov. Cooper, getting a swift response and if need be moving the national convention to a state that is farther along on reopening and can say with confidence that we can gather there,” Pence said.

Earlier in the interview, Pence mentioned Texas, Georgia and Florida as three states that have reopened more quickly.

Where will coronavirus spread stand in August?

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles issued a statement Monday that echoed Cooper’s call for data to guide decisions.

“With the health and safety of our residents and visitors being the top priority, the city of Charlotte will continue to follow guidance from Governor Cooper and public health professionals in determining the best and safest way to host the Republican National Convention,” Lyles said. “While I’ve remained consistent in my statements regarding the RNC being held in Charlotte, the science and data will ultimately determine what we will collectively do for our city.”

As the virus has spread and testing has become more widespread, North Carolina has reached 24,056 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus and 790 people have died from the virus, according a News & Observer tally of state and county announcements. The state Department of Health and Human Services reported the highest daily increase in cases on Saturday, with smaller increases Sunday and Monday. DHHS reported the highest number of hospitalizations to date on Monday.

Mecklenburg County has the largest number of cases and deaths in the state — 3,380 case and 73 deaths, as of Monday.

Still, Cooper has taken gradual steps in May to reopen some of the state’s economy, saying enough progress has been made.

State Rep. Mark Brody, a member of the Republican National Committee, predicted that by late August the greatest worries about the virus will have subsided.

“(The convention) is so far out in time that this will more than likely all be over by then. Unless by somebody’s imagination they’re creating new things they’re attributing to the virus. This thing will eventually end and I think it’ll be pretty soon,” said Brody, who is from Union County.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told NPR last week he’s certain coronavirus infections will continue into the fall and winter “because it’s not going to disappear from the planet.”

“So it isn’t inevitable that we’re going to have a massive rebound,” he said. “What is inevitable is that we will see cases.”

Researchers’ attempts to predict cases and deaths have fluctuated widely, even among different updates to the same model. But as of last week, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington estimated the death toll in North Carolina by August would reach about 2,500, more than triple the current number, The News & Observer reported.

Cooper has said if key benchmarks for improvement continue to be met, then the state could enter its next phase of reopening in late June. But Republicans have called on him to go faster.

“Now more than ever, we need the economic boost that this convention brings, especially to a hospitality industry that has been especially hard hit,” Mecklenburg County GOP Vice Chairman Sarah Reidy-Jones said in a statement. “Governor Cooper’s policies have been drastically devastating for North Carolinians, especially the 1 in 7 Charlotte residents that comprise of its hospitality sector. We strongly encourage Governor Cooper to put the good of the state’s economic recovery above any political posturing or personal feelings.”

But Rep. Alma Adams, a Charlotte Democrat, said in a statement that Trump “is trying to bully the people of North Carolina and Charlotte into a game of ‘chicken.’ Luckily, Governor Cooper and our state health professionals are too smart to play that game, and they’re going to continue to make decisions based on science and the best available health information.”

Scaled-down event?

Charlotte council member Malcolm Graham, a Democrat, said the type of certainty that Trump was asking for was nearly impossible to provide at the end of May. Graham called a full-blown convention “insane” and said any event cannot be the same scale as was imagined.

“If the President believes that he needs some guarantee, then maybe he needs to take the convention to Mar-a-Lago,” said Graham, referencing the president’s club in South Florida where Trump often vacations.

“This is not about politics, it’s about the public health,” Graham said. “We have a fiduciary responsibility as a community to ensure that we not only protect the public safety during the RNC, but also protect the public health.”

Graham said he understands that hotels and restaurant owners are eager to reopen and serve convention guests. But he raised concerns about frontline workers like airport baggage handlers, Uber drivers and hotel housekeepers, who would be in contact with thousands of people during the convention.

“If you’ve got 50,000 folks coming to Charlotte ‘everything as usual,’ (then) in 14 days when they all leave, all the work we have done in terms of social distancing and following the guidelines of the local health department will have gone in vain,” he said.

City council member Larken Egleston, a Democrat who was the swing vote on bringing the convention to Charlotte, agreed with Graham about the timing of making a decision. The Charlotte City Council voted 6-5 in July 2018 to support hosting the convention where Trump will be re-nominated.

“I think reasonable people understand there might not be all the answers yet to what either convention will look like but undoubtedly they’ll look different than normal,” he said. “If Trump is unwilling to consider that changes will have to be made to hold in person events that’s just not realistic.”

The Democratic National Convention was pushed back from its original July date to Aug. 17 through Aug. 20 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The convention could be scaled back and parts of it handled virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic, Democrats, including presumptive nominee Joe Biden, have said.

Other events with big crowds in North Carolina have had to adjust, though it is clear that some in the state are not willing to abide by the orders to avoid large gatherings.

Charlotte Motor Speedway hosted a NASCAR race Sunday evening with no fans in the stands. It was the first major sporting event in the state since the pandemic forced the cancellation of the ACC men’s basketball tournament in March.

The spectator-less race came one day after more than 4,000 fans packed into an Alamance County speedway to watch races, in defiance of Cooper’s orders.

Key state for 2020

Cooper is up for re-election in November. Brody said Cooper could face political problems if the convention were moved.

“It’s a political slap in the face if Cooper tries to play silly games with the convention and dilute the importance and celebration that the Republicans are going to have here. ... If I were to bet, I think it will be here in August. And if it isn’t, Cooper will play a real high price at the polls. It’ll anger the base like you’ve never seen it angered before.”

Trump won North Carolina in his 2016 Electoral College victory. The state is again seen as a key swing state in the presidential election — and even more so in the tight race for control of the Senate.

“There will be a convention in Charlotte. It’s a matter of what it looks like,” U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is up for re-election in 2020, told the Charlotte Observer late last week.

“There’s an entire support infrastructure that needs to be available.”

Many of the state’s businesses were allowed to open for the first time in two months on Friday, May 22. Tillis said the convention’s host committee is working on specifics. He said he spoke with Lyles and felt that she was supportive of moving forward.

“We need to crystallize in the next two weeks exactly what the plans are,” he said in a phone interview with The Charlotte Observer.

Cal Cunningham, the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat, said the state should listen to the recommendations of the public health experts.

“We’re certainly not ready to have large gatherings in North Carolina at this point. We can be hopeful that this virus will burn out and disappear before it’s convention time. But that’s not what the public health experts seem to be suggesting. I strongly urge them to be listening,” he told the Charlotte Observer in a phone interview late last week.

Michael Whatley, the chairman of the NC GOP, wrote in a tweet Monday that the state party “is excited to rollout the red carpet and welcome” Trump and the national party to Charlotte. “We can have a safe Convention in NC and nominate President Trump,” he wrote.

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