GOP picks Jacksonville, Florida, for Trump convention speech

Jacksonville, Florida, has been selected to host celebration marking President Donald Trump’s acceptance of his party’s mination for reelection, Republican National Committee chairwoman said on Thursday.

Ronna McDaniel me anuncement a day after saying that Jacksonville was a front-runner to hold event. goverr of rth Carolina, official host of this summer’s Republican National Convention, h balked at promising Trump a full-blown convention in Charlotte free from social distancing measures during coronavirus pandemic.

“We are thrilled to celebrate this momentous occasion in great city of Jacksonville,” McDaniel said. “t only does Florida hold a special place in President Trump’s heart as his home state, but it is crucial in path to victory in 2020. We look forward to bringing this great celebration and ecomic boon to Sunshine State in just a few short months.”

McDaniel said event would be held at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, which holds 15,000 people. She said more details would be released in coming weeks.

party’s more mundane business, including discussions over platform, will still be held in Charlotte because of contractual obligations.

RNC h spent last week scouting locations after rth Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper rejected Trump’s demand that convention be allowed to take place Aug. 24-27 without social distancing measures.

Jacksonville area, home to a major military base, has a population of about 1.5 million. Mayor Len Curry is a former chairperson of state Republican Party, and area is home base of GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, a key Trump ally.

“Florida is hored to host this special event where we will celebrate re-mination of President Donald J. Trump,” DeSantis said in a statement Thursday. “Jacksonville is a great city that will showcase Florida’s energy, facilities, entrepreneurship and commitment to bring toger delegates of Republican Party at a historic time in our nation’s history.”

Curry called anuncement “a huge win” for Jacksonville.

“ opportunity to highlight all our city has to offer and tremendous ecomic impact is one I enthusiastically welcome, and we look forward to hosting an exciting event for all delegates and guests to enjoy,” Curry said in a statement provided by RNC.

Florida’s prize of 29 electoral votes is considered crucial to Trump’s bid for a second term. That celebration could generate at least $100 million in revenues for host city, perhaps more.

But Ben Frazier, a black activist with rthside Coalition of Jacksonville, said event would be disruptive to city during a time of racial tension and a pandemic.

“I only see this exacerbating se problems,” he said. “ mayor’s concerned about money city could make. We’re concerned about lives of people here in Jacksonville more than anything else. We don’t simply need to be concerned about dollars and cents.”