Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp offers his state to host the Republican National Convention instead of North Carolina after Trump complaints

insider@insider.com (Jake Lahut)
·3 min read
Georgia gov brian kemp
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp made the first offer for another state to host the Republican National Convention after President Trump's grievances over North Carolina's coronavirus restrictions being too tight.

AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

  • Following President Donald Trump's threats to ditch North Carolina as the host of the Republican National Convention, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp made an offer on Twitter on Tuesday morning.

  • "With world-class facilities, restaurants, hotels, and workforce, Georgia would be honored to safely host the Republican National Convention. We hope you will consider the Peach State, @realdonaldtrump!" Kemp tweeted.

  • Kemp's offer is the first formal one from another state to step in and potentially replace North Carolina.

  • Charlotte, North Carolina, was picked by the Republicans as a strategic site for the convention given the Tar Heel State's importance in the Electoral College as a swing state.

  • North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper — a Democrat up for reelection this year — has been cautious while slowly reopening the state, insisting that data and public-health experts will determine how busy things can get around the convention.

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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has offered his state to host the 2020 Republican National Convention instead of North Carolina, tweeting the proposal on Tuesday morning in response to President Trump's calls for a potential switch.

After the president tweeted on Memorial Day about threatening to pull the convention from Charlotte, North Carolina. over the Tar Heel State's coronavirus restrictions, Kemp made a pitch the next morning.

"With world-class facilities, restaurants, hotels, and workforce, Georgia would be honored to safely host the Republican National Convention. We hope you will consider the Peach State, @realdonaldtrump!" Kemp, a first-term Republican, tweeted on Tuesday.

Trump has been frustrated with North Carolina's lockdown order under Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is also up for reelection in November.

Cooper and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles have been adamant that data and public-health experts will determine how dense the convention can be, with the city's Spectrum Center arena holding up to about 20,000 people.

The president, on the other hand, has insisted that he wants the arena to be full, with the Republican Party touting an expected 50,000 people to visit for the convention.

Trump lamented Cooper for being in a "Shutdown mood" in his Memorial Day tweet storm.

While Trump threatened to "reluctantly" change the site of the convention, no such move has been done this late in the cycle in modern American politics.

Mayor Lyles has gone on the record to emphasize that the city's contract with the RNC will not supersede public health.

"We have a contract with the RNC to host this convention, but we also have a commitment to our community that we will keep them safe and well," Lyles said on May 18. "We can't go into this with just, 'Well, we agreed to something in 2018 and we're going to continue to do it.'"

"That is not the world today."

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