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President Trump cancels RNC in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — President Donald Trump announced that the Republican National Convention has been canceled in Jacksonville. The President said the timing wasn’t right to hold the convention due to the flare up of coronavirus cases. He said he had to protect the American people.

“I’ll still do a convention speech, in a different form,” Trump told reporters. “But we won’t do a big crowded convention. The area that we’re talking about is a hot spot.”

He said the primary factor that changed his mind was safety.

“I just felt it was wrong for people to go to a hot spot,” Trump said.

There will still be a smaller gathering of delegates in North Carolina. He says that it won’t be anything like the last convention.

Mayor Lenny Curry and Sheriff Mike Williams released a joint statement after the President’s announcement:

“We appreciate President Donald Trump considering our public health and safety concerns in making this incredibly difficult decision. As always, in Jacksonville public safety is our number one priority. President Trump has once again reaffirmed his commitment to the safety of Jacksonville Florida and the people of the United States.”

The Jacksonville 2020 Host Committee also released a statement saying that the President made the right decision.

“President Trump made the absolute right decision for the health and safety of the people of Jacksonville and of the entire state of Florida. The rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Florida is serious and the President and the RNC have demonstrated great concern for the safety of all Floridians.”

The announcement comes days after Sheriff Mike Williams shared his concerns earlier this week on safety and resources.

“So, my team identified key resources, for example, in terms of manpower, and I can confirm to date that we’ve only been able to pull together about 25% of what we requested. Some of this is due to concerns over reimbursement, while additional issues are related to the pandemic that we’re facing today,” Williams said.

City Council was going to discuss a bill tomorrow that would help allow the city to transfer federal money to the mayor to be used for the RNC. Duval GOP Chairman Dean Black sent out a statement at 5 p.m. discussing keeping the convention and supporting the city bill.

“At this critical time in our nation’s history, our great city has been afforded a historic opportunity to showcase a city cooperating in a bipartisan manner in the interest of all its citizens. The Republican National Convention will provide our city with valuable national exposure as well as enormous economic benefits which will create jobs, fill hotel rooms, and create an economic surge right when we need it most. Having pursued the convention, it is now time for Jacksonville to show the world that we can deliver. All city council members should support Ordinance 2020-399. A vote for this bill is a vote to provide the resources necessary to ensure our citizens’ safety and security during Jacksonville’s moment on the world stage.

Hannah Lee

Hannah Lee

Hannah Lee is a General Assignment Reporter for 104.5 WOKV.