Trump says he's canceling Jacksonville portion of the Republican National Convention

(Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

published 23 July 2020

President Trump announced on Thursday evening that he has canceled the Jacksonville, Florida, portion of the Republican National Convention because "the timing for this is not right" and he has to "protect the American people."

The convention, slated for late August, was originally going to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina. After GOP officials and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) could not agree on social distancing measures, it was decided that official party business would still take place in Charlotte, but the parties and programs were moved to Jacksonville.

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Florida is seeing a surge in coronavirus cases, and earlier this week, Duval County Sheriff Mike Williams shared with Politico his concerns over being able to provide adequate security for the event, which was still not fully planned. One GOP official told The Washington Post Trump's advisers told him that if he canceled the Florida part of the convention and showed he took the coronavirus seriously, it could help his sinking poll numbers.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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