President Donald Trump revealed the upcoming Republican National Convention could be downsized due to the alarming surge in coronavirus cases across the state of Florida.
During Trump’s appearance on “Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren,” he admitted that the plans for the convention may be contingent “on the timing.”
“It really depends on the timing,” Trump told Susteren on Tuesday after being asked about potentially downsizing the convention. “Look, we’re very flexible. We can do a lot of things, but we’re very flexible.”
Since Florida is now considered an epicenter in the United States for the coronavirus, the Republican Party will likely face increased risks holding the large gathering.
In fact, gatherings of this magnitude — where nearly 50,000 people have attended previously — have been banned in most states due to the coronavirus. However, the president is determined to move forward.
“We’re always looking at different things,” Trump said of the plans for the convention.
Trump went on to discuss the decision to move the convention from Charlotte, N.C., to Jacksonville, Fl. According to Trump, the coronavirus problem in Florida was “sudden.” However, he believes its only spiking “a little bit.”
He continued, “When we signed in Jacksonville a few weeks ago, it looked good, and now all of a sudden it’s spiking up a little bit, and that’s going to go down.”
See Trump’s remarks below:
The president’s latest comments about the convention come as several Republican lawmakers have confirmed they will not be attending. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) previously cited the coronavirus as his reason for not attending, as previously reported on IJR
Back in June, RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel confirmed the convention would be relocated to Florida due to ongoing clashes with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) amid the pandemic.
We are thrilled to hold @realDonaldTrump's acceptance of the Republican nomination in the great city of Jacksonville!
— Ronna McDaniel (@RonnaMcDaniel) June 12, 2020
Not only is Florida his home state, it is crucial to victory.
We look forward to bringing this great celebration and economic boon to the Sunshine State!
At the time, the president and the RNC refused to scale down the event and Cooper refused to allow the event at full capacity due to the pandemic, as previously reported on IJR.
Now, Florida has emerged as an epicenter for coronavirus with a seven-day average of 8,587 cases on Tuesday and a positive test rate of 19.3%.
As of Wednesday afternoon, there are now more than 10,000 known cases in the city of Jacksonville, Fl., alone. Florida also hit its highest infection rate at 20.8% on Tuesday.
The Republican National Convention is scheduled for August 24-27.