WASHINGTON — President Trump on Thursday announced the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, Florida has been cancelled as cases continue to spike in the state.
During a briefing at the White House, Trump said presidential nominating delegates would still meet in Charlotte, North Carolina, which was the original planned location, but that there would be no large events, as he had hoped.
“I looked at my team and I said, ‘The timing for this event is not right. It’s just not right with what’s happened,’” he said.
“To have a big convention, it’s not the right time. It’s really something that, for me, I have to protect the American people. That’s what I’ve always done,” he continued.
“We won’t do a big, crowded convention, per se. It’s just not the right time for that,” he said.
The Trump campaign and Republican National Committee had been pushing ahead with a large, in-person convention even as cases in the Sunshine State continued to reach record highs.
Trump was to be originally crowned the nominee in Charlotte but last month officially moved the event to Florida after North Carolina’s Democratic governor refused to host a large-scale event in the middle of the pandemic.
But just five weeks later, Jacksonville event was no more, and Trump lamented that there would be no raucous event.
“The drawings looked absolutely beautiful,” he said. “There was a tremendous list of speakers; thousands of people wanted to be there. Some people desperately wanted to be there,” he said.
Trump said he still plans to make a speech in person in Charlotte.
