It was not clear that the historical resonance of the date for the city, which is about 30 percent African-American, was known to Republican officials before its selection. The announcement of the Jacksonville speech capped a furious scramble set off after Mr. Trump and Gov. Jacksonville, roughly a six-hour drive from Charlotte, was seen as the top contender as Republican officials considered a range of last-minute replacements. Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic nominee, is leading Mr. Trump in Florida by about three percentage points, according to polls. One of the holdups on any official announcement earlier this week was a question about whether Jacksonville had enough hotel rooms to accommodate the gathering.

Source: New York Times June 12, 2020 00:30 UTC