With Trump forbidding a scaled-back RNC, GOP and Charlotte officials are scrambling
As recently as two weeks ago, Republican officials were bullish on holding their national convention in Charlotte, even if it meant scaling back their most ambitious plans.
Convention officials told the governor in a phone call that day that, given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all options were on the table, according to a source familiar with the conversation.
Then a week later, the president weighed in.
It was Donald Trump’s call to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper the following Friday, May 29, that triggered the decision that has apparently cost Charlotte the GOP convention, or at least its biggest spectacle.
Now both Republican and Charlotte leaders are scrambling to figure out what’s next.
After Trump tweeted Tuesday that he’s looking for another state to host the convention, Republican National Committee officials began looking for other cities to host the president’s acceptance speech, and maybe more. Charlotte would be left with the “official business” of the convention, though exactly what that is hasn’t been announced.
After nearly two years of planning, the four-day convention is scheduled to start on Aug. 24.
Charlotte city officials and leaders of the convention host committee are talking to national GOP officials and poring through contracts in hopes of keeping the convention in town. Republican lawmakers are trying pass legislation to keep it in North Carolina, in effect by allowing 19,000 people in the Spectrum Center.
“I haven’t given up on the thing by any means,” Ed Driggs, one of two Republicans on City Council, said Friday. “Right now what they’re trying to do is work out a compromise that lets us maintain the spirit of our agreement but also lets (Trump) do what he wants.”
What the president wants was made clear on May 29, when he called Cooper.
“Since the day I came down the escalator, I’ve never had an empty seat and I find the biggest stadiums,” he told Cooper, according to the Washington Post, citing people familiar with the call. “I don’t want to be sitting in a place that’s 50 percent empty.”
Cooper told Trump that because he couldn’t know the scope of the coronavirus or state restrictions in August, he couldn’t guarantee full attendance at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center. And he wanted people to social distance.
“We can’t do social distancing,” the president said, according to the Post and confirmed to the Observer by a person familiar with the conversation.
Cooper asked Trump to allow a scaled back convention.
“We can’t do scaled down,” Trump replied.
How it fell apart
Before that, convention officials had appeared willing to do just that to accommodate concerns about the virus.
On April 15, during a virtual event with the media, convention CEO Marcia Lee Kelly said “public safety is paramount” at the convention, even if delegates have to wear masks and social distance in the arena. Organizers, she said, were flexible.
On May 21, the New York Times reported that convention officials were looking at ways to scale back, even limiting the number of delegates and alternates who would come to Charlotte.
In her May 22 call with the governor, Kelly said all options were being considered, from a full convention to a more virtual one, according to two people familiar with the call. State officials said they were willing to accommodate the RNC on those options. They asked for specific plans for dealing with the health situation.
Neither Kelly nor convention spokespersons could be reached Friday.
In a Memorial Day tweet, Trump said Cooper was “still in Shutdown mood & unable to guarantee that by August we will be allowed full attendance in the arena.”
Three days later, on May 28, Kelly and GOP National Chair Ronna McDaniel wrote to Cooper with a new offer. They asked him to guarantee a full house and outlined several safety measures for the convention. They gave him a June 3 deadline to get back with any additional guidelines.
The next day, May 29, Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen wrote Kelly and McDaniel asking how many delegates they expected each night and how they planned to keep them safe.
That was the night Trump himself called Cooper.
“When the President insisted on a full convention arena with no face coverings and no social distancing, the Governor expressed concerns and suggested a scaled back event with fewer attendees,” Cooper spokeswoman Sadie Weiner said that night. “They agreed to continue talking about ways to have a safe convention in Charlotte.”
Three days later Trump tweeted again.
“Because of (Cooper), we are now forced to seek another State to host the 2020 Republican National Convention,” he wrote.
Disappointed but hopeful
John Lassiter, CEO of Charlotte’s host committee, said his committee is trying to broker an agreement that would keep the convention in Charlotte.
“Where we are is trying to find common ground,” he said Friday. “We’re obviously very disappointed with the steps the RNC has been taking because we thought we had a convention in our city. We’re optimistic that there’s a way to keep the convention here and have the impact I think many folks in the community were hoping we’d have.”
Among other things, the host committee is charged with raising around $70 million for the event.
“There will clearly be a question on what money has been spent … and raised for the purpose of having a convention in Charlotte,” Driggs, the council member, said. “So there’s no presumption that that money is available for an event somewhere else.”
For his part, Lassiter qualified his optimism.
“I’m not at 10 any more,” he said.
This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 5:07 PM.
