“I told my team it’s time to cancel the Jacksonville, Florida component of the GOP convention,” Trump said Thursday at the White House. The party decided June 11 to move the convention from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida, after Governor Roy Cooper refused to waive social-distancing and other measures to prevent contagion. The Republicans, urged on by Trump, had persisted in planning a full convention right up until Trump’s announcement at his daily coronavirus briefing on Thursday. When Trump made the decision to move the convention in early June, Florida’s rate of coronavirus infections was well below the national average. As recently as two weeks ago, the White House denied there were any second thoughts about holding a convention.

Source: Hindustan Times July 23, 2020 21:58 UTC