Conventions vs. covid-19: Trump’s push for a spectacle while the virus surges

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🗓️ 16 July 2020

⏱️ 26 minutes

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Summary

The 2020 presidential nominating conventions will look little like the political mega-events we’ve seen in this country for the past few decades.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has made the notion of huge stadiums full of cheering supporters plus countless meetings, rallies and after parties, unadvisable under U.S. public health guidelines.

Now, for both parties, rejiggering their conventions has been a significant challenge.

Democrats have decided to take a largely virtual approach to their party’s event after initially pushing it from July into August.

Republicans, led by urging from President Trump, hoped to hold as close to a normal convention as possible. So much so that they changed the location of the Republican National Convention celebrations from Charlotte, N.C., to Jacksonville, Fla. The original site in Charlotte refused to go along with Trump’s demands for a crowded large-scale event. So Republicans searched for a city that would disregard health guidance and let thousands of people from all over the country gather in one place. They ultimately chose Jacksonville largely because the city’s political leadership aligns with Trump.

But that was all back in mid-June. When the RNC chose Florida, coronavirus cases in the state were much lower. Since then, Florida’s case numbers have surged, setting record highs and complicating things for those planning the event.

After many iterations, Republicans announced this week that they’ll hold some sort of scaled-back convention in Jacksonville, with a mix of indoor and outdoor events.

The whole saga has been a tug of war between the Trump team’s desire to get Trump in front of a large crowd of supporters, where he politically thrives, and the public health restrictions designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

On this episode of the“Can He Do That?” podcast, reporter Michael Scherer helps tackle some big questions around this year’s conventions: Why has Trump been so adamant about holding a convention that’s at least partially in person, amid a pandemic? Why might his campaign team view the convention moment as so critical this election cycle? Plus, if significantly pared down or virtual versions of conventions can work just fine, what might the parties learn for the future of these events?

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Transcript

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0:00.0	In another version of 2020, this week I would have been in Milwaukee at the Democratic
0:06.8	National Convention.
0:08.1	Instead, I am home, basically under a fancy blanket fort in my spare bedroom.
0:13.7	But just as I'm continuing to bring you this show, albeit slightly differently, so too
0:18.5	will the party committees bring the American people, conventions.
0:22.3	Those presidential nominating conventions, however, will look little like the political
0:26.2	mega events that we've seen in this country for the past few decades.
0:30.1	The novel coronavirus pandemic has made the notion of huge stadiums full of cheering
0:34.4	supporters, plus countless meetings, rallies and after parties, unadvisable under current
0:40.1	U.S. public health guidelines.
0:42.0	Now, for both parties, rejiggering their conventions has been a significant challenge.
0:47.6	Democrats have decided to take a largely virtual approach to their party's event after
0:51.6	initially pushing it from July into August.
0:54.7	Republicans, led by urging from President Trump, hope to hold as close to a normal convention
0:59.9	as possible.
1:00.9	So much so that they changed the location of the Republican National Convention celebrations
1:05.2	from Charlotte, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida.
1:08.6	The original site in Charlotte refused to go along with Trump's demands for a crowded
1:13.0	large-scale event.
1:14.7	So Republicans searched for a city that would disregard current health guidance and let
1:19.0	thousands of people from all over the country gather in one place.
1:23.0	They ultimately chose Jacksonville largely because the city's political leadership aligns
	...

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