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You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2020 / The RNC’s Convention: I Hear There Are Plenty of Cruise Ships Available…

The RNC’s Convention: I Hear There Are Plenty of Cruise Ships Available…

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Per CNN:

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the GOP will be “forced” to find a new state to host their convention as North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper stands by his demand that party leaders provide him with plans for a scaled down event amid coronavirus concerns.

Cooper, the President tweeted, “is still in Shelter-In-Place Mode, and not allowing us to occupy the arena as originally anticipated and promised. Would have showcased beautiful North Carolina to the World, and brought in hundreds of millions of dollars, and jobs, for the State.”…

The tweets come after the Democratic governor wrote in a letter to Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and Convention CEO Marcia Lee Kellya that he would like to continue the conversation with organizers, but unless they offer up a much different plan, the chances of Charlotte, North Carolina, being able to host the August event are “very unlikely.”

“The people of North Carolina do not know what the status of COVID-19 will be in August, so planning for a scaled down convention with fewer people, social distancing and face coverings is a necessity,” Cooper wrote. “We are happy to continue talking with you about what a scaled down convention would look like and we still await your proposed plan for that.”

Two sources with knowledge told CNN that, despite the President’s tweet, it appears the decision isn’t final. But the sources say there have been tense conversations in the last 48 hours between the RNC and the governor’s office ahead of Trump’s self-imposed deadline, which is Wednesday…

Officials from the Republican National Committee are considering Nashville, Las Vegas, Orlando, Jacksonville and venues in Georgia to host their August convention if they fail to reach a deal with officials in North Carolina, two Republicans familiar with the planning tell CNN.

The contingency planning is to the point where party officials plan to travel to Nashville later this week to scout possible venues, the sources said, and may travel to other sites in the near future. Both Nashville and Las Vegas were prospective host cities before Republicans officially picked Charlotte…

IIRC, Charlotte originally ‘won’ the bid because none of the competitors could guarantee the necessary arenas, hotel rooms, security, et al — and that was before the pandemic. But the Squatter-in-Chief wants what he wants, now!!!

Reading the local Charlotte Observer, sounds like the city will manage to go on regardless:

… Trump has been known to change course at times and to use maximum pressure to get his way, so threatening to “seek another state” could be a negotiating tactic. Trump first threatened to pull the convention in a series of tweets on Memorial Day…

Cooper, a Democrat, said Tuesday that state officials and convention organizers had discussed a limited attendance version, but those “discussions have stopped.”

“They have demanded a full 19,000-person crowd at the inside arena in Charlotte. We’ve continued to say we want to talk with you about a scaled-down convention. But we cannot guarantee you that at the end of August, you can have a full arena,” Cooper said Tuesday at a press briefing in Raleigh…

If the city had canceled the convention, it was potentially staring at tens of millions of dollars in damages, the Charlotte Observer previously reported. Under a contract it signed two years ago, RNC organizers could ask the courts to force Charlotte to host the event or pay millions of dollars in damages if city leaders don’t allow the event to happen, the Observer reported last month.

City attorney Patrick Baker said the RNC contract was intentionally structured so that it would be hard for either side to cancel…

Forget Chicago in ’68; the GOP apparently hopes to reenact Miami Beach in ’72.

Reader Interactions

52Comments

  2. 2.

    dmsilev

    Cruise ships would indeed be ideal. You’d only have to strap a couple of the big ones together to get up to ten or so thousand people.

    I’m guessing Florida will get the nod; the governor there has shown remarkable enthusiasm for licking Trump’s boots.

  4. 4.

    CaseyL

    I love the idea of the RNC Con being in Las Vegas.  The delegates will all come home with Covid-19, STDs, and casino-emptied pockets.

  5. 5.

    Jeffro

    What else can we say, except…

    …DEMOCRATS IN DISARRAY!!!1!

    lololololol

    Have at it, TCNJs!  Y’all can Covid it UP! at the RNC in one of your red states and then take it all home with you.  I’m sure that the “hoax” will “disappear by summer” (or September, or October) so as to not impact the election or your GOTV efforts or any of that.

  9. 9.

    Woodrow/asim

    As I live not too far from that mess, and know that specific area well — yeah, this is the right call.

    It’s already a damned tight slice of city to stuff people into, and likely to be hot as hell on top of that (which would be, I hasten to add, damn appropriate for the audience).

    But Charlotte doesn’t need that headache, and never did.

    Good riddance.

  10. 10.

    hueyplong

    Residing an hour from Charlotte’s arena, I’m thrilled by this news.

    The pus-sack would have stiffed the city anyway.

  11. 11.

    Jeffro

    Also I see that Steve King just lost his primary, and ‘Republican Voters Against trumpov’ is about to air a new ad (with, of course, trumpov’s own words about “American Carnage” juxtaposed with film from all the recent riots).

    sigh

    ahh

    Nice way to wrap up an evening!

  12. 12.

    Miss Bianca

    I just can’t believe these idiots.

    So…just to make sure I’m clear on the concept…North Carolina didn’t *technically* tell the RNC that they couldn’t have their Nuremberg Rally convention in Charlotte, the Governor just told them they had to modify it? So they haven’t forfeited any money, right?

    But it would be just like those reality-challenged GOP peckerheads to *try* to sue the state, right?

  13. 13.

    Punchy

    Trump has a hotel in Vegas.  He’s going to Vegas.  All those family-value types….I’m sure there won’t be any gambling or hookers.

  15. 15.

    lamh36

    Dave Wasserman

    @Redistrict

    I’ve seen enough. Rep. Steve King (R) has been defeated in #IA04.

    Replying to
    @Redistrict

    This is a rare election result that delights both parties’ House leadership. Dems will view it as a rejection of white nationalism. But state Sen. Randy Feenstra (R) defeated King by calling him an ineffective ally to Trump after he was stripped of his committee assignments.

  17. 17.

    Anne Laurie

    @NotMax: Yeah, but I doubt enough of the RNC delegates have passports for a voting quorum.

    My personal bet is that Trump wants the wide-screen, full-media renomination of His Glouryous Self to take place at one venue (preferably somewhere ‘nice’, i.e. a Trump property), with the rest of the sweaty rabble of swag-wearing delegates in a different city altogether.  He doesn’t like to share the media’s attention.

    And after this week, I’m sure the GOP is queasy at the thought of every news channel showing split screens divided between the MAGAts yawping & mooing at their big party, while military-style ‘security’ abuses protestors outside the arena.

    This ain’t 1968, or even 1972; the ‘lawn ordah above all’ crowd is a lot smaller, and will be smaller still by August if Trump’s people stay on the same path when it comes to dealing with the pandemic.

  18. 18.

    Jeffro

    @lamh36: “Herr King!  You were too obvious!  We must now let you go, in favor of a new servant of the Reich!  One who knows the right words to say, like zis Tucker Carhlson…”

  19. 19.

    Ken

    I suppose one safe way would be to let everyone into the arena with 14 days of supplies, then seal it.  If no one shows symptoms of covid during the 14 days, they can leave. Otherwise quarantine until no one is symptomatic (and, I guess, keep them supplied – pesky morality).

    Heck, a lot of them have been braying about “herd immunity”, so they should leap at the chance to be a model for the nation.

  24. 24.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jeffro: Like that one tennis player in the 70s who did everything only with one arm. He had one forearm that looked like Popeye’s and one that looked like Olive Oyl’s.

  25. 25.

    Aleta

    By August the GOP convention committee would be insisting on some kind of combat-level protective force in the city, and urban riot units, extra private security, souped up surveillance…. And by September they’d be ignoring all the bills. I hope it’s true that NC has dodged this bullet. The demonstrations and counter-demonstrations would be so hard on the city.

  27. 27.

    charluckles

    I thought it was one of the very fine commenters at this blog that had spent many years in planning and managing political conventions and stated that trying to change the location of a convention this close to the event was a recipe for a complete and utter disaster. These things take years to put together.

  29. 29.

    Jeffro

    @charluckles: they do and it is…if trumpov thinks he’s going to pull off some monumentally ego-gratifying, full-arena, roar-of-the-crowd spectacle in some other state at this late date…well, let him.  Let him think that.  I’m sure it will go like most of his endeavors.

  31. 31.

    Benw

    @Aleta: I was thinking along the same lines, but you articulated it better. I hope NC is just trying to get out of this without being sued (good luck with Trump involved!) but any city hosting the convention should be planning for protests followed by asymmetical police and military response. Followed by Trump blaming everyone else for all the problems…

  37. 37.

    Ken

    @charluckles:  @Jeffro:  You’re missing one thing. I’d bet the convention will go just as well at a new site as it would have in NC, because I’m sure that there’s been almost no planning done for NC. At least, none requiring action from the White House.

  38. 38.

    Adam L Silverman

    @TruthOfAngels: I don’t remember the guy’s name. I just remember the strange forearm disparity. I was a kid in the 70s and tennis didn’t make a lot of sense to me until I realized it was just ping pong played on the table.

  44. 44.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Aleta: By August the GOP convention committee would be insisting on some kind of combat-level protective force in the city, and urban riot units, extra private security, souped up surveillance…. And by September they’d be ignoring all the bills. I hope it’s true that NC has dodged this bullet. The demonstrations and counter-demonstrations would be so hard on the city.

    Hilariously, this tantrum wasn’t even from NC telling them to get fucked.

    As for the bills, lots of us are still thankful Chicago didn’t get the Olympics.

  45. 45.

    kindness

    I wouldn’t care if the Republicans only infected each other with a full arena.  But the service staff, the hotel staff & the restaurant staff would also be at a higher risk.

    Trumpies don’t care about anyone but themselves.

  46. 46.

    Bishop Bag

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Went to Vegas In August 6 years ago to watch NBA Summer League Games, decided to go to an Atmosphere Concert on the Patio Roof venue at the Cosmopolitan,,, 11:30 at night… 104 degrees!!!

  49. 49.

    columbusqueen

    @Adam L Silverman: I think it was Rod Laver, whose left arm earned him the nickname of Rocket Rod. His heyday was the 60s, but he may have kept playing in the 70s.

  50. 50.

    prostratedragon

    @mrmoshpotato:  As for the bills, lots of us are still thankful Chicago didn’t get the Olympics.

    Yes!! That’s one of those thanksgivings you can always keep in reserve for bad days, like Truman firing MacArthur.

  51. 51.

    charon

    @Benw:

    After the photo op at St. Johns, good luck finding a host city.  Trump is getting pretty toxic.

  52. 52.

    AM in NC

    @opiejeanne: Those of us living in NC care a whole bunch.  And I am so pleased with our governor. Any governor or mayor who seeks out a mass gathering of people from around the country (and people who are far less likely to wear masks or practice social distancing than everyone else) is a fool who’s courting a giant second wave of infection.  I wouldn’t wish the RNC on any state.  A cruise ship staffed by fellow cultists, however? Yessiree.

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