President Donald Trump pointed Tuesday to being “very flexible” when asked if increasing coronavirus cases could affect his desire for a big nominating convention next month in Jacksonville.
Republican leaders last month decided to move key parts of the Republican National Convention from Charlotte, N.C., to Jacksonville after Trump expressed displeasure that North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, was “unable to guarantee” that coronavirus social-distancing requirements would be lifted before the event, scheduled for Aug. 24 to Aug. 27.
“Well, we’re always looking at different things,” Trump said Tuesday, while appearing on “Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren.”
“When we signed in Jacksonville, and, again, we wanted to be in North Carolina, that almost worked out,” Trump continued. “But the governor didn’t want to have people use the arena, essentially. I said, ‘Too bad for North Carolina.’ And then we went to Florida.”
But Florida has seen a massive surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, with cases in Duval County alone topping 600 a day for six of the past 14 days, in a county that’s seen 460 residents’ deaths due to Covid-19. Duval had a cumulative total of just 1,690 coronavirus cases when Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered Phase 2 reopening on June 5. It had 10,308 today, a 510 percent increase.
Van Susteren asked Trump if he would consider not holding a big convention if the numbers continue to go up.
“When we signed a few weeks ago, it looked good,” Trump replied. “And now, all of a sudden, it’s spiking up a little bit. And that’s going to go down. It really depends on the timing. Look, we’re very flexible. We can do a lot of things. But we’re very flexible.”
Florida’s total number of coronavirus cases hit 213,794 on Tuesday, an increase of more than 61,000 cases over one week. Jacksonville last week joined a growing list of Florida cities and counties that have required people to wear face masks when they are unable to socially distance indoors to prevent the spread of the virus.
Vice President Mike Pence said last week that “we are excited about coming to Jacksonville.”
“I was at a meeting not long ago when I heard about some very sophisticated plans to make sure it is a safe and healthy environment,” Pence said while making an appearance in Tampa with DeSantis.
On Tuesday, DeSantis issued a 60-day extension of a state of emergency because of the coronavirus crisis. The order, initially issued March 9 and extended in May, authorizes a wide range of actions and directs the Division of Emergency Management to coordinate the state’s response, while allowing the governor to direct necessary money and supplies.
DeSantis has drawn heavy criticism from Democrats for declining to issue a statewide face-mask mandate.
The ballooning case numbers have heightened concerns about hosting the GOP convention at the 15,000-capacity VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville.
Pence, the head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, praised DeSantis for “the prudent steps that you are taking to slow the spread here in Florida” and urged people to follow social-distancing guidelines to help curb the disease.
“We’ll do what other parts of the country have done. We’ll flatten the curve, we’ll slow the spread, we’ll save lives along the way and we’ll make it possible for great events to happen here in Florida, not just the RNC, but make it possible for Florida to once again be that great destination for so many Americans who love to come and enjoy the Sunshine State,” Pence said.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said last week that the party will “abide by what the mayor and governor are saying.”
This week, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announced they would not attend the convention.
The Des Moines Register reported that Grassley, 86, told reporters in a conference call Monday he wasn’t going “because of the virus situation.”
The Register said U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, might only attend one day.
“But that may change,” she said, according to the Register. “We certainly need to monitor what’s going on on the ground.”
Alexander’s office issued a statement that said “the delegate spots should be reserved for those who have not had that privilege before as he has had.”
Alexander, 80, an honorary chair of Trump’s Tennessee campaign, is not seeking reelection.
–Jim Turner, News Service of Florida
steve says
Hes flexible only to get ReElected. IT wont get my vote. Good luck and only hope the orange blowhard gets to experience C19 up close and personal.
Pogo says
@“I’d vote for a tuna fish sandwich before I’d vote for Donald Trump again.”
https://rvat.org/
Yellowstone says
Well, g-o l-l-ee , shazam, surprise, surprise, surprise. You finally got it right Gomer.
Flatsflyer says
Trump says it’s spiking a little bit, (510%) no wonder he had someone take his SAT, his math skills are like his read and speaking abilities, that of. A First Grader. Throw this clown out, now he wants to kill our children by forcing schools to reopen.
pinelakes79 says
In these crazy times, do we need a Democratic OR Republican convention? We know who the candidates are. Biden can announce his VP at a news conference. The ‘platform people’ (whoever THEY are) can meet in any city or by zoom/skype. Filling hotels and restaurants should not be the priority.
deb says
Every time Trump comments these days, its like listening to a 3rd grader and DeSantis continues to follows him like a little puppy. It just gets rather pathetic after a while.
Mythoughts says
Trump and his administration have been in denial on the seriousness of this virus from the get-go, remember it was a Democrat hoax. Governor DeSantis open too soon because Donald Trump asked him to, so numbers are spiking and neither Trump nor DeSantis seems to care about the well being of the citizens of Florida. They are both making this all a political clown show at the expense of human lives.
I can’t believe they take an oath of office to protect and serve the people of our country and state and yet are failing that in so many ways.
Governor DeSantis could be making it mandatory for people to wear masks out in public but he is passing the buck and placing that on each municipality. So much for the Governor failing to do a job he was elected to do and that is served and protect the citizens of Florida.
Gary R says
Trump Waffles on GOP Convention while Joe Biden calls the White House Waffle House. People could care less how you vote.
Denali says
Sure, the convention is ‘flexible’ but by golly those kids need to be back in schools on August 10th!
Adults should be smart enough to make the correct decisions in going to a political convention – but the kids going to school? Let’s see, we have the buses where every kid grabs that handrail stepping on to the bus and touches every seat on his way down the aisle. they get to school and are herded into the cafeteria where because of our cuts to their healthy meals they get plates of finger food, and on top of it all, they are kids who push and shove each other and think it’s gets sport to blow snot in another kids hair. Heaven save us all . . .
Outsider says
And if Obama were the president: “Obama Pensively Reconsiders Convention Amid Fears of Coronavirus.”