TOPLINE
President Trump announced at a White House briefing on Thursday that he instructed his team to cancel the portion of the Jacksonville, Florida, Republican convention amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak in the state.
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KEY FACTS
“I told my team that it is time to cancel the Jacksonville, Florida component of the Republican convention,” Trump said.
Trump said that his advisers urged him to go ahead with the convention, insisting that there was “incredible enthusiasm” for the event and that it could be carried out “safely and responsibly”, but that he said that “the time for this event is not The right one”. with worsening outbreak in the state.
“For me, I have to protect the American people. That’s what I’ve always done, that’s what I’ll always do, that’s what it’s all about, “Trump said.
Trump stated that the first day of the convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, which will feature his nomination, will go as planned.
When asked later why he is canceling the Jacksonville portion of the convention, Trump said, “I would just say security.” Just security. I could see the media saying ‘oh this is very insecure’. “
Key background
Trump initially relocated major events from the Charlotte convention to Jacksonville in June over disagreements with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper over coronavirus mitigation measures. But Florida has since become one of the epicenters of the latest wave of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. The state reported more than 10,000 new cases and 173 deaths on Thursday. Republicans were increasingly forced to deal with the realities of a reduced convention as the outbreak worsened.
Big number
62% Polls suggested the convention was not popular with state and local residents, contrary to what the Trump team apparently claimed. A recent Quinnipiac poll found that 62% of Florida voters said they believed the convention would be unsafe given the pandemic, while a University of North Florida poll in June found that 58% of Jacksonville voters they opposed organizing the event.
What to look
“We are going to do other things with tele-meetings and online,” Trump said. “I will still do a convention speech in a different way, but we will not do a big and crowded convention.”
