Both NYT and Charlotte Observer report Republicans are moving the “public portion” of the Republican National Convention out of Charlotte following President Trump’s tweets last night:
…millions of dollars, and jobs, for the State. Because of @NC_Governor, we are now forced to seek another State to host the 2020 Republican National Convention.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2020
However:
An RNC spokesman said in a statement that the public portion of the convention — the primetime speeches from key party figures, including the presidential and vice presidential nominees — will move, but other aspects could remain in Charlotte.
“Due to the directive from the governor that our convention cannot go on as planned as required by our rules, the celebration of the president’s acceptance of the Republican nomination will be held in another city. Should the governor allow more than 10 people in a room, we still hope to conduct the official business of the convention in Charlotte,” the spokesman said.
Official business takes place the week before the public portion of the convention.
Then there is the issue of the contract between the RNC and the City of Charlotte:
Under a contract it signed two years ago, RNC organizers could ask the courts to force Charlotte to host the event or pay millions of dollars in damages if city leaders don’t allow the event to happen, the Observer reported last month.
It’s not clear if the RNC would face penalties for pulling out. City attorney Patrick Baker said the RNC contract was intentionally structured so that it would be hard for either side to cancel.
“The contract is designed so the two sides are substantially bound together,” he told the Observer. “The terms are mutual.”
Charlotte did not include an “act of God” clause in its RNC deal, which would have allowed it to call off the event due to unforeseen disasters. While some big events have those clauses, lawyers said it is not common for political conventions to include them.
Stay tuned.
