Jacksonville, Fl — President Donald Trump says he’s “flexible” on the size of the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, Florida, as a growing number of Senate Republicans talk about skipping the event.
Asked in an interview Tuesday whether he’d want as big an event if the state’s coronavirus cases continue to surge, Trump replied that the decision “really depends on the timing.”
The remark on Gray Television’s “Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren” came as Republican senators including Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee announced they would stay away from the event.
Both senators are in their 80s, and the virus takes a high toll on older people.
This comes after Republicans opted to move the main event of the RNC out of Charlotte to Jacksonville, Florida.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper voiced concerns about holding a full-scale convention. The governor balked at promising Trump a full-blown convention in Charlotte without social distancing measures during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a phone call between President Donald Trump and Governor Roy Cooper, Trump expressed his desire to address a large, enthusiastic crowd saying, “I don’t want to be sitting in a place that’s 50 percent empty.”
Interview with @realDonaldTrump at White House ...watch Full Court Press pic.twitter.com/bMnyJ7Doiw
— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) July 7, 2020
Trump told @greta “flexible” on GOP convention in Jax. “When we signed a few weeks ago, it looked good. 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. ... We can do a lot of things, but we're very flexible.”
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) July 7, 2020
Trump to @greta on his plan for a Florida convention: "Well, we're always looking at different things...when we signed a few weeks ago, it looked good. And now all of a sudden it's spiking up a little bit and that's going to go down...depends on the timing...we're very flexible."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 7, 2020
RNC in JAX | The @VyStarVetArena will be at 50% capacity for the Republican National Convention, per @GovRonDeSantis’ extended State of Emergency. Why @realDonaldTrump says he’s being ‘flexible’ — AT 6:35 on @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/76lMY4kqbB
— Beth Rousseau (@BethANJax) July 8, 2020
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