Charlotte newspaper’s editorial board urges governor to ‘call Trump’s bluff’ on GOP convention

The Charlotte Observer is calling on Gov. Roy Cooper (D) to “call the president’s bluff” by refusing to host the 2020 Republican National Convention during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The newspaper’s editorial board in a column Tuesday acknowledged the amount of revenue at stake, but called on Cooper to give “the only answer he can provide right now” if President Trump wants an immediate answer.

“The alternative – giving an unqualified nod to the convention – is untenable. No one, including Trump and Cooper, knows what COVID-19 will look like late this summer,” the editors wrote. “It’s possible North Carolina could see the kind of coronavirus progress that allows for a large-scale indoor event to be safely held here. It’s just as possible that loosening restrictions in May and June could result in a spike of infections in July and August, and that the convention will be unsafe for Charlotte and its global guests.”

“One thing is certain about COVID-19: it’s inadvisable to predict what the virus will look like a few weeks out, let alone a few months,” they added. “With North Carolina just now tip-toeing into reopening, there’s no way officials can smartly estimate the risks of a full arena and packed Uptown in August.”

Trump has threatened to move the event, currently scheduled to take place Aug. 24-27 in Charlotte, unless Cooper can guarantee full capacity, saying on Tuesday that Cooper had a week to make a decision.

The Observer’s editors go on to note Trump’s own history of downplaying the danger of the virus and encouraging states to reopen against the White House’s own guidelines, which, they said, indicates “there’s likely no COVID spike bad enough to persuade the president to call things off on his own.”

The editorial encourages Cooper to refuse to guarantee the convention, saying: “Maybe it causes Trump to back down for a while. Or, even better, it might prompt the president to move the convention. That could be the best outcome – or at least the safest – for Charlotte.”

Several Republican governors have offered to host the GOP convention since Trump issued his ultimatum, including Georgia’s Brian Kemp and Florida’s Ron DeSantis.  

“There’s a lot of states that are calling the president right now saying, ‘Hey, why don’t you bring that revenue to our state?’” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said on “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday.