The Trump administration is pressing forward with plans to host a large in-person gathering for the Republican National Convention, and White House aide Kellyanne Conway says they are taking into consideration the health of delegates and other attendees.
After a venue change, spiking coronavirus cases, and a sharp recession, Trump aides and allies are increasingly questioning whether it’s worth the trouble, and some are advocating that the convention be scrapped altogether.
Conway said she is still discussing safety measures for the event with Ronna McDaniel who chairs the RNC.
“We talked about different things they’re doing and I think they made that public yesterday. The temperature checks, the mask wearing, maybe outdoors for some of the events. All of that is being considered,” Conway said to reporters outside the White House on Friday.
Ultimately, President Donald Trump will make the final decision on whether to move forward with the convention, and his aides are hoping to paint a different picture than the Democratic National Convention which has become a mainly virtual event.
“The Democrats just went and said we only want 300 people,” Conway said. “We went from 50,000 to 300 which I just noted is legitimately a small second wedding where I come from. It is not a national convention. It is not the way we should be electing our president.”
But privately, concerns are mounting, and plans are being drawn up to further scale back the Republican’s event or even shift it to entirely virtual. Officials who weeks ago had looked for the convention to be a celebration of the nation’s vanquishing of the virus now see it as a potent symbol of the pandemic’s persistence.
Trump’s attempt to revive his signature presidential campaign rallies also backfired during the pandemic as many seats were left empty during an event in Tulsa, Oklahoma and a recent rally in New Hampshire was canceled because of weather concerns from then-Tropical Storm Fay.
Conway did not reveal any plans the Trump administration has for hosting more presidential rallies before the November election but said there are other ways people can support the reelection campaign.
“I think it’s also incredibly important to acknowledge and appreciate that there are voters who will do anything for Donald Trump who may never come to a rally until they get a vaccine. And that is fine,” Conway said. “They are going to be there for him. They can spend that time instead of going to a rally, they can spend that time working over their neighbors and their circle of life.”
Many among the party’s leadership and the donors who attend conventions are older, putting them in a higher-risk category for the coronavirus.
Already a half-dozen Republican senators have indicated they won’t attend the convention. Even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has expressed reservations.
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