President Trump demanded on Monday that North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) make a decision as soon as possible about his state’s lockdown orders for the coming months, threatening to pull the Republican National Convention — scheduled to take place in Charlotte the week of August 24 and expected to draw more than 50,000 participants — if he fails to provide Republicans a “guarantee” that they will be able to hold the convention as planned. Pulling the convention from the state, Trump reminded Cooper, would have a significant economic impact.
“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,” Trump said a series of tweets Monday. “Unfortunately, Democrat Governor [Roy Cooper] is still in Shutdown mood [and] 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,” Trump emphasized. “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,” said Trump. If Cooper fails to offer Republicans a “guarantee” that they will be able to hold the convention as planned, he warned, they’ll be “reluctantly forced” to go elsewhere. “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,” he concluded. “Thank you, and I LOVE the people of North Carolina!”
Trump’s comments follow recent statements by RNC organizers that they fully intend to hold the event as planned. As reported by WCNC Charlotte, the event organizers said during a recent virtual press conference that they are moving “full steam ahead” on the convention but stressed that some key decisions are still hinging on COVID-19-related developments.
“Officials said it’s too soon to make any definitive call on what they’ll do. With 50,000 expected visitors coming to Charlotte for the RNC, that’s 50,000 people who will need food, hotel rooms and transportation,” WCNC reported Monday.
Marcia Lee Kelly, president and CEO of the 2020 Republican convention in Charlotte, said during the press conference that delegates may be asked to wear masks inside the venue, WCNC notes.
Like Trump, Kelly emphasized the economic impact of the convention, which will be held in Charlotte’s Spectrum Center, describing it as “an economic catalyst for the Charlotte community,” WCNC reports.
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