President Donald Trump on Monday morning threatened to move August’s Republican National Convention out of North Carolina unless there are guarantees the state will let everyone attend.
“I love the Great State of North Carolina, so much so that I insisted on having the Republican National Convention in Charlotte at the end of August. Unfortunately, Democrat Governor, @RoyCooperNC is still in Shutdown mood & unable to guarantee that by August we will be allowed … ..full attendance in the Arena,” he began in a string of four tweets.
Trump added: “In other words, we would be spending millions of dollars building the Arena to a very high standard without even knowing if the Democrat Governor would allow the Republican Party to fully occupy the space.”
In case voters in the swing state might take offense, Trump twice indicated his “love” for the state and its people. Recent polls have shown Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in a tight battle for North Carolina’s 15 electoral votes.
The RNC is scheduled to be held in Charlotte on Aug. 24-27, less than a week after Democrats are set to wrap up their rescheduled convention in Milwaukee. It’s not clear where the Republican convention might be moved or how easily that could be done on relatively short notice.
Monday morning’s tweets fits with the president’s trend of attacking states governed by Democrats via Twitter over restrictions in those states and requests for federal assistance. Prominent targets in recent weeks have included Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Trump‘s tweets come a day after residents of North Carolina defied Cooper’s restrictions to watch auto racing in Alamance County. Press reports indicated that approximately 4,000 people were in attendance. The governor has been permitting a gradual reopening of the state, but gatherings were supposed to be restricted to 10 people indoors or 25 outdoors.
Read more: politico.com
