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The convention was originally scheduled to be held at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, but on June 2, 2020, Trump and the Republican National Committee pulled the event from Charlotte after the North Carolina state government declined to agree to Trump's demands to allow the convention to take place with a full crowd and without public health measures designed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as social distancing and face coverings. Trump then announced that the convention would be moved to Jacksonville, Florida, but subsequently cancelled the Jacksonville convention plans on July 23. Some convention proceedings, albeit dramatically reduced in scale, are still scheduled to be held in Charlotte, such as "small, formal business meetings." The Charlotte proceedings will be closed to the press and instead livestreamed. The party then plans to hold the events and festivities, including Trump's keynote speech, remotely from various locations.
By tradition, because Republicans currently hold the presidency, their convention will be held after the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which was held from August 17–20. Former White House director of management and administration Marcia Lee Kelly was named convention president and CEO in April 2019.
Trump faced only token opposition in the Republican primaries and caucuses, and clinched the Republican nomination in March 2020, when he reached 1,276 pledged delegates.
Following President Trump's rally in Greenville, North Carolina, the Charlotte City Council proposed retracting their bid to host the convention. All nine Democrats on the city council voted on a measure calling Trump a racist for his statement ("good people on both sides" of the statue debate). The city met in closed sessions with an attorney regarding their contract to host the convention. A conclusion was made that breaking the contract would likely end with the city being taken to court and forced to host the convention. A resolution was eventually approved by the Charlotte City Council.
On May 25, 2020, Trump raised the possibility of moving the convention out of Charlotte after North Carolina governor Roy Cooper stated that the convention would need to be scaled down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 2, 2020, after weeks of failed negotiations, Governor Cooper rejected the plans submitted by the Republican Party to host a full-scale convention. Trump announced the cancellation via tweet, stating, “Because of , we are now forced to seek another state to host the 2020 Republican National Convention.”
RNC officials stressed that the mechanics of the convention would still be held in Charlotte. "The RNC’s Executive Committee has voted unanimously to allow the official business of the national convention to continue in Charlotte. Many other cities are eager to host the president’s acceptance of the nomination, and we are currently in talks with several of them to host that celebration," said RNC communications director Michael Ahrens.
On June 11, the Republican National Committee confirmed that the main events and speeches of the convention would move to Jacksonville, Florida, including Trump's nomination acceptance speech on August 27 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. However, the convention's official business will remain in Charlotte with a greatly reduced agenda and number of delegates. August 24 was to see a portion of the convention hosted in Charlotte, with the following three days of the convention being held in Jacksonville.
On July 16, the Jacksonville Republican National Convention Host Committee sent out a letter announcing that, in addition to the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, other venues in Jacksonville would be used, including TIAA Bank Field, Daily's Place, 121 Financial Park, and "several other" venues".
However, with the explosion of COVID-19 cases peaking at above 15,000 cases per day in mid-July, the possibility of the Jacksonville convention being canceled as well began to be discussed. Several of the local health restrictions in Charlotte that had prompted the RNC to seek a different location—requirements for people to wear masks and practice social distancing—were later adopted by Jacksonville. Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is 86, said he would skip the convention for the first time in 40 years due to the risk of COVID-19.
On July 23, Trump announced that RNC events scheduled in Jacksonville, Florida, had been cancelled, saying, “The timing for the event is not right.” However, Trump also announced that delegate business will still continue in Charlotte.
Convention committees, meetings before the Convention
Committee on Platform
Rather than adopting a new party platform, the Republicans decided simply to recycle their 2016 party platform, including several unflattering references to the "current president" and attacks on "the administration" (which in 2016 referred to Barack Obama and the Obama administration). The decision was criticized by Republican activists. In a tweet, Trump said that he would "prefer a new and updated platform, short form, if possible."
The RNC did not do this, just issuing a one-page document stating opposition to the "Obama/Biden administration" and supporting President Trump's, instead.
Committee on Arrangements
On August 1, a Republican convention spokesperson said that, "Given the health restrictions and limitations in place within the state of North Carolina, we are planning for the Charlotte activities to be closed press" for the entirety of the convention. The decision to bar press was criticized by the White House Correspondents' Association. However, a Republican National Committee official cited by the Associated Press indicated that "no final decisions have been made and that logistics and press coverage options were still being evaluated."
Only one-sixth of the delegates (336 out of 2,550) gathered physically in Charlotte, with six delegates from each state and territory. On August 5, convention planners announced a number of health and safety rules for the delegates, vendors, and staff who will gather physically.
On August 12, the chairman of the credentials committee, Doyle Webb, said that a tiny group of reporters will indeed be permitted to cover the one-day official convention and the nominations of Trump and Pence.
Republican National Committee meetings
The Republican National Committee had its semi-annual meeting from August 21 to 23. It was closed to the press.
The nomination event takes place in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the party is contractually obligated to conduct its official business there. Only just over 300 delegates are to attend.
The main speeches will take place every night from 8:30 to 11:00 pm EDT. Headlining speakers will speak after 10:00. The speeches will take place in a central hub in Washington, DC, rather than in Charlotte.
Selection of pledged delegates
The base number of pledged delegates that are allocated to each of the 50 states is 10 at-large delegates, plus 3 district delegates for each congressional district. A fixed number of pledged delegates are allocated to Washington D.C., and each of the five U.S. territories. Bonus delegates are awarded to each state and territory based on whether it has elected (if applicable) through December 31, 2019 (after the 2019 off-year elections): a Republican governor, Republican majorities in either one or both chambers in its state legislature, one or two Republicans to the U.S. Senate, or a Republican majority in its delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives. A state is also awarded additional bonus delegates if it carried the Republican candidate, Trump, in the 2016 presidential election.
Pre-convention delegate count
Under the original plan, 2,550 delegates and half as many alternates were to attend the convention.
Only 336 delegates were able to attend the nomination.
Presidential and vice presidential balloting
With most of the convention canceled, proxy voting via the attendees was the method of choice. Donald Trump, the sole candidate, received 2,550 certified votes (100% of the total).
Since 1988, the vice-presidential nomination, has been ratified by voice vote. It did so again this time, in the case of Mike Pence.
Once the convention is over, the festivities will move to the nation's capital, and speeches, entertainments and other surprises will be presented from venues throughout the country.
Location of Trump's acceptance speech
On July 28, Trump has said that he would accept the nomination in person in Charlotte. However, on August 5, he said he would "likely" accept the Republican nomination from the White House. A decision to accept a party's nomination from the White House would break a norm; the Associated Press noted that it would "mark an unprecedented use of federal property for partisan political purposes." The proposed plans also raised legal questions under the Hatch Act, which creates certain prohibitions on the use of public resources for political activity, and the legality of the plan was questioned by Republican senators Ron Johnson and John Thune. While the president is exempt from the Hatch Act's restrictions, the law applies to other federal employees; the ethics director of the Campaign Legal Center stated that "any federal employee who helps facilitate the acceptance speech risks violating the Hatch Act."
Nonetheless, Trump tweeted that he had decided to hold it on the White House lawn anyway, announcing on August 13 that he had finalized this decision.
Since Trump will accept his nomination remotely, it will be the first time a Republican nominee has done so since Alf Landon in 1936. Since Democratic nominee Joe Biden also accepted the Democratic nomination remotely (the first time a Democrat has done so since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944); 2020 will be the first election since 1928 in which neither major-party nominee accepts their nominations in-person.
Schedule
Charlotte: Monday, August 24
Morning session
The official business of the 2020 Republican National Convention, including the formal nominations of President Trump and Vice President Pence, was held in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The 336 delegates met in the morning from 9AM EDT, after which the committee reports were read and voted on.
Scott Walker placed Pence's name in nomination, who was nominated by voice vote. This was the first time the vice presidential nomination came first. Michael Whatley, the chair of the North Carolina Republican Party, placed the president's name in nomination and Florida state senator Joe Gruters seconded the nomination. This was followed by the traditional roll-call of the states.
The roll-call was interrupted by addresses from Walker, Vice President Pence, and President Trump himself, who spoke over an hour. All of them addressed the crowd in-person, having flown to Charlotte.
With the official convention business over, the four-night entertainment event will be anchored at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., with various other events taking place in that city and elsewhere.
Presidential leadership is not guaranteed. It is a choice. Biden, Harris, and the rest of the socialists will fundamentally change this nation....They will defund, dismantle and destroy America’s law enforcement. When you are in trouble and need police, don’t count on the Democrats.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, a Trump campaign spokesperson and the girlfriend of the president's son Donald Trump, Jr., spoke on the first night of the convention.
Guifoyle painted a dark picture of an America led by Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Guilfoyle attacked Democrats, blaming them for a "cancel culture" amongst other attacks. In part of her speech, Guilfoyle criticized the governance of California, a state which happens to be governed by her ex-spouse, Democratic governor Gavin Newsom.
Guilfoyle shouted her remarks, and her delivery was consequentially characterized as "loud". The content of her speech was characterized as "dark". The tone and delivery of the speech received some criticism from both conservative and liberal figures.
Nikki Haley
In much of the Democratic Party, it’s now fashionable to say that America is racist. That is a lie. America is not a racist country...America is a story that’s a work in progress. Now is the time to build on that progress, and make America even freer, fairer and better for everyone. That’s why it’s so tragic to see so much of the Democratic Party turning a blind eye towards riots and rage
—Nikki Haley at the 2020 Republican National Convention
Early into her speech, she quoted fellow former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick as having said, "Democrats always blame America first". This was a key line from Kirkpatrick's own speech to the 1984 Republican National Convention.
In her speech, Haley invoked her parents, both immigrants from India.
Despite his moderate political record, Haley attempted to link Democratic nominee Joe Biden with the "socialist left". She also painted the prospect of a Biden presidency as beneficial to the interests of China and Iran. Haley also offered strong criticism of the foreign policy of the Obama administration, in which Biden served as vice president. She argued that while Trump, "has a record of strength and success," Biden, "has a record of weakness and failure," and that while Trump has, "moved America forward," Biden has, "held America back".
Tim Scott
My grandfather's 99th birthday would have been tomorrow. Growing up, he had to cross the street if a white person was coming. He suffered the indignity of being forced out of school as a third grader to pick cotton, and never learned to read or write. Yet, he lived to see his grandson become the first African American to be elected to both the United States House and Senate. Our family went from Cotton to Congress in one lifetime. And that's why I believe the next American century can be better than the last. There are millions of families like mine across this nation...full of potential seeking to live the American Dream.
And I'm here tonight to tell you that supporting the Republican ticket gives you the best chance of making that dream a reality.
—Tim Scott at the 2020 Republican National Convention
In his speech, Scott declared that, "2020 has tested our nation in ways we haven't seen for decades," invoking the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor as having tested the United States.
Scott praised the Trump administration's actions on police reform. Scott cited the opportunity zones as something he had worked with Trump on creating (neglecting to mention the key involvement of Democrats Cory Booker and Ron Kind, who had proposed the idea in collaboration with Scott).
Scott declared his support for school choice. He declared opposition to "cancel culture". He declared his beleif in, "the goodness of America".
He quoted Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden as having said numerous remarks offensive to him as a black man. He also criticized Biden's actions, such as his involvement in the 1994 Crime Bill.
Scott accused Biden of wanting to give tax cuts to "blue state" millionaires as the expense of most Americans. Scott painted Trump's own Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 as having benefitied "single moms, working families, and those in need".
Scott attempted to tie Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris to socialism. He declared, "Joe Biden's radical Democrats are trying to permanently transform what it means to be an American. Make no mistake, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris want a cultural revolution. A fundamentally different America. If we let them, they will turn our country into a socialist utopia, and history has taught us that path only leads to pain and misery, especially for hard-working people hoping to rise."
Scott's speech also featured autobiographical elements.
Donald Trump, Jr.
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Demonstrations and protests
In the days before the convention, protests began to arise in Charlotte against it.
Al Sharpton's National Action Network initially had gotten the permits to have a large march and rally of up to a hundred thousand people in the National Mall for August 28, with earlier events taking place in the days just before. This was well before the Republican's convention was moved to the city.
Controversies
COVID-19 risks of earlier convention plans
Safety concerns were raised over earlier plans to hold an in-person convention amid a pandemic. Despite these concerns, Trump, for an extended period of time, had resisted calls to scale-back the convention.
Legality of use of White House for campaign activities
Some experts and politicians have questioned the legality of the use of the White House for convention speeches, as any federal employees (exempting the president and vice president themselves) who assist in such campaigning activities in such a government building may be violating the Hatch Act of 1939.
Pompeo speech
The appropriateness of having the incumbent United States secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, address a political convention has been questioned, particularly since Pompeo will deliver the speech remotely while on a diplomatic trip, creating a possible Hatch Act of 1939 violation.
Pompeo's modern predecessors had avoided political conventions while serving as secretary of state. This speech will come despite Pompeo having warned other diplomats against "improperly" taking part in politics.
Broadcast and media coverage
It was announced August 2, 2020, that reporters would not be permitted on-site during the delegate business in Charlotte, but that the convention would, however, be live-streamed. This would mark the first time in modern history that the media will not be granted access to the nominating event of a major party candidate. However, the Republican National Committee walked this back, saying that the decision to bar reporters from entry had not been made final. On August 5, President Trump stated that the convention, in fact, would be open to the press.
Convention organizers are anticipating the major television networks to broadcast the last hour of each night live.
Nominees
2020 U.S. presidential election
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