President Donald Trump made the decision to move his acceptance of the GOP nomination to Jacksonville, Florida, in part because guidelines in North Carolina, where the convention had been planned for, would prevent him from putting on the big party he wanted.
But with less than two months to go, the event the Republican National Committee ends up producing may be a far cry from what Trump and his team envisioned when they switched cities. There are discussions of having an outdoor venue, prominent Republicans say they aren’t going and many of the glamorous events that usually come with a convention are being reduced or outright eliminated.
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The main party business and platform committee planning remains in Charlotte, and it is unclear how many days of made-for-TV programming will even take place in Jacksonville. In response to the rising coronavirus case numbers in Florida, officials tell CNN that organizers are in active talks to secure an outdoor venue where the President can give his acceptance speech in a safer setting.
“Jacksonville is a world-class destination with state of the art facilities. In addition to Veterans Memorial Arena, TIAA Bank Field, our baseball park and Dailey’s Place, as well as other venues will be a part of hosting this historic event here in the River City,” said Erin Issac, the communications director for the host committee.
TIAA Bank Field is the football stadium home to the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. It can seat more than 67,000, and 121 Financial Ballpark, which hosts minor league baseball games and can seat 11,000. The host committee has also promised to come up with a plan where every single attendee is given a Covid-19 test every single day before entering the convention perimeter.
“The safety of the people attending the convention is our first priority. We can do that and a have a successful event,” Florida Republican Party Chairman Joe Gruters told CNN. “I am optimistic that we can pull off a convention that will meet everyone’s expectations and is safe for everyone involved.”
But while Gruters seems confident, Republicans across the country are slowly starting to back away from the event. A number of US senators have said they will not be attending, and other prominent GOP leaders refuse to commit to be there.
“Well, I think the convention is a challenging situation and a number of my colleagues have announced that they are not going to attend,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters during an event in Kentucky on Thursday. “And we’ll have to wait and see how things look in late August to determine whether or not you can safely convene that many people.”
RNC planners are dealing with a series of challenges to pull off the type of convention the President envisions. The threat of the virus has eliminated the free-wheeling party-like atmosphere that normally accompanies events like these. In addition to several nights of glitzy high-profile speeches to packed arenas, behind the scenes, party officials, elected leaders, donors and activists hob knob at cocktail parties and corporate sponsored events. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway conceded that aspect of the convention is not possible in 2020.
“I think you can do the convention safely according to local guidelines, according to CDC guidelines. There has got to be something between no convention and the usual big convention,” Conway told reporters last week. “I assume something is happening with all the parties and the dinners and those cocktail parties. I’m too old for that anyway. They are all gone.”
What the President and his team may be miscalculating is the desire for even his most ardent supporters to participate in an event like this. One Florida GOP operative said that switching states may have made it easier for convention planners to comply with local guidelines, but it doesn’t change the fact that many Republicans are nervous about the threat of the virus.
“What they are missing is the big picture. The restrictions states put in place are irrelevant because actual people don’t want to do things like this,” the Florida operative said. “Generally, people – even Republicans – are still scared.”
Still, Florida Republicans are insistent that they will be able to pull off the type of event the President is hoping for. Gruters said that interest for the event is still high, despite the high-profile detractors.
“When I talk to people, there is still a lot of excitement,” Gruters said. “For one available spot, there are five people who want to fill it.”
But even the adjustments being made by the host committee are being met with skepticism from some Republicans who are worried a convention of this size is impractical given the threat of the pandemic.
“People are going to come here from all over the country?” the Florida operative asked. “That is not going to happen.” The operative added that the climate in the Sunshine State is not necessarily conducive to a late summer outdoor gathering.
“They are planning an outdoor event in August in Jacksonville during hurricane season. That is a recipe for disaster.”
CNN’s Jeremy Diamond and Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.
