Trump announces nomination speech plans
Donald Trump said on Monday that the White House and the Battlefield of the Civil War in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, were two locations that would be considered the venue of his Republican nomination speech later this month.
In a Twitter post, the president said “We will announce the decision soon!”
Both the Democratic and Republican party conventions have been overturned amid the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.
The August 24-27 Republican convention was set to take place entirely in Charlotte, North Carolina. A state both parties expect to be competitive on November 3rd.
Now there will be only one day of official convention business taking place there with a much smaller number of attendees.
Last week, Democrats scrapped plans to accept Joe Biden in person in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, his party’s nomination. Another closely contested election state.
Democratic officials, quoting coronavirus concerns, said Mr Biden would speak to the nation instead of his home state of Delaware as part of the most virtual convention to be held Aug. 17-20.
Mr Trump’s decision – whether the White House or Gettysburg – will prove controversial, after critics criticized the president’s use of taxpayers’ money and his presidential office’s targets for election campaigns, which include speeches at the White House, a non-partisan public site.
Gettysburg, meanwhile, had lost the location of a decisive battle of 1863 by the pro-slavery Confederate States of America, whose symbols Mr. Trump had previously defended amid protests against anti-racism.
Reuters
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