President Donald Trump announced on Twitter Tuesday night that the Republican Party will no longer host the 2020 Republican National Convention in North Carolina as was previously planned, but instead will be seeking other locations to host.
The president blamed Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper for the change in plans, saying that the governor is still in “Shelter-In-Place Mode” and has thus far refused to guarantee that the Spectrum Arena in Charlotte would be able to operate at full capacity for the convention Aug. 24-27.
“Because of [Gov. Cooper], we are now forced to seek another State to host the 2020 Republican National Convention,” Trump said.
The move was becoming more and more expected as the weeks waned on since the start of the coronavirus outbreak and the two leaders sparred over capacity restrictions.
Last week, Trump delivered an ultimatum to Cooper, threatening to move the convention out of state unless an immediate guarantee from the governor that “full attendance” would be allowed. Cooper evidently refused to comply and so the party will look elsewhere.
Upon news of the ultimatum, governors and party leaders in several states — including Georgia, Florida, and Texas — offered up their states to host the huge event.
In response to Trump’s Tuesday night tweet, Cooper shot back saying “it’s unfortunate” the GOP “never agreed to scale down” the convention in lieu of the pandemic.