For more than a year the RNC Committee on Arrangements focused on preparations in Charlotte, NC.  However, President Trump insisted on a full arena for his acceptance speech and officials in Charlotte would not guarantee that due to the pandemic (+).  On June 11, 2020 the RNC announced Jacksonville, FL as the host city for the convention celebration of President Trump's nomination on August 27, while Charlotte would still be the site of business meetings.  With ten weeks to prepare, organizers in Jacksonville set to work.  On July 23, as COVID-19 cases continued to spike, President Trump pulled the plug on the Jacksonville component.  That left just one month for planners to put together a convention program.  The business session, including the roll call, took place in Charlotte.  For the rest of the convention, many of the speeches were delivered from the Carnegie Mellon Auditorium in DC.  Speakers lauded Trump—the man and his accomplishments—and delivered wide-ranging criticisms of Biden and his record.   On Thursday Trump made his acceptance speech from the South Lawn at the White House, and the evening concluded with a spectacular show featuring fireworks at the Washington Monument and music including a performance by tenor Christopher Macchio.  Trump got the spectacle he wanted; the political imagery was unique and stunning (+).  Ethical questions were raised about a number of aspects of the convention (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), and, according to the Johns Hopkins University, Thursday also marked 180,000 deaths in the U.S. due to COVID-19.   


"Together, we will write the next chapter of the Great American  Story."

"Honoring the Great American Story" Convention Program Highlights
  Mon., Aug. 24
   Tues., Aug. 25
   Wed., Aug. 26
   Thurs., Aug. 27
  Land of Promise
   Land of Opportunity
   Land of Heroes
   Land of Greatness
  • First Lady Melania Trump from the Rose Garden at the White House
  • Vice President Pence from Fort McHenry National Monument
  • President Trump from the South Lawn at the White House
Charlie Kirk   |   Rebecca Friedrichs   |   Tanya Weinreis   |   U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (FL-1)   |   Kim Klacik   |   RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel   |   Amy Johnson Ford   |   Dr. G.E. Ghali   |  U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (OH-4)   |   Herschel Walker   |   Natalie Harp   |   Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones   |   Andrew Pollack   |   Mark and Patty McCloskey   |   Kimberly Guilfoyle   |   House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (LA-1)   |  Sean Parnell   |   Maximo Alvarez   |   Former Ambassador Nikki Haley   |   Donald Trump Jr.   |  Catalina & Madeline Lauf   |   U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (SC) Myron Lizner   |   Jon Ponder and Rich Beasley   |   U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (KY)   |   Jason Joyce   |   Cris Peterson   |   Larry Kudlow   |   John Peterson   |   Cissie Graham Lynch   |  Mayor Robert Vlaisavljevich   |   Abby Johnson  |   Mary Ann Mendoza   |   Nicholas Sandmann   |   Pam Bondi   |  Tiffany Trump   |   Gov. Kim Reynolds (IA)   |   Ryan Holets   |   Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez   |  Eric Trump   |  Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron   |   Secretary of State Mike Pompeo   |   Melania Trump Gov. Kristi Noem (SD)   |   Scott Dane   |   U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (TN)   |   U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (TX-2)   |   Keith Kellogg   |  Tera Myers   |  Kayleigh McEnany   |  Second Lady Karen Pence    |   Kellyanne Conway  |   Sister Dede Byrne   |   Lou Holtz   |   Michael McHale   |   U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY-21)   |   Madison Cawthorn   |  Jack Brewer  |  Chen Guangcheng​   |  U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (NY-1)   |   Sen. Joni Ernst (IA)   |   Burgess Owens   |   Lara Trump   |  Sam Vigil   |  Clarence Henderson   |   Richard Grenell   |   Vice President Mike Pence House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23)   |   Ja'Ron Smith   |   U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (NJ-2)   |   Stacia Brightmon  |   Dan Scavino   |   Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY)   |   Dana White   |  Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes   |   Debbie Flood   |   Ann Dorn    |   HUD Secretary Ben Carson  |   Patrick Lynch   |   Rudy Giuliani   |   U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (AR)   |   Carl and Marsha Mueller   |   Alice Johnson   |   Ivanka Trump   |   President Donald J. Trump

                           


related events

Convention highlights Trump bid for Black support





@cltuprising


 fb/Charlottein2020  @Charlottein2020

Selected Press Releases
  [please send press releases and suggestions to action08 at gmail]

Aug. 28, 2020 - RNC Research: President Trump's "Powerful" Speech Caps Convention Highlighting Everyday Heroes

Aug. 28, 2020 - The Nielsen Company: Television Audience Estimates

Aug. 24-27, 2020 - Biden for President Responses

Aug. 27, 2020 - CREW Complaint: Chad Wolf Violated Hatch Act During RNC

Aug. 26, 2020 - Shutdown DC: Long Live GoGo stages concert outside White House to drown out Trump’s speech

Aug. 24-25, 2020 - Congressional Democrats Question Propriety of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's Speech

Aug. 23, 2020 - Trump Campaign Announces President Trump's 2nd Term Agenda: Fighting for You!

Aug. 23, 2020 -  Watch the RNC Presidential Nomination Live on Monday, Aug. 24 at 9:00 a.m. EST

Aug. 23, 2020 - Trump Campaign Announces Speakers for This Week's Historic Republican National Convention

Aug. 22, 2020 - RNC Resolution Regarding the Republican Party Platform

Aug. 22, 2020 - CLT Host 2020, Inc. Debuts Close Out Plan Distributes $3.2 Million to the Charlotte Region

Aug. 22, 2020 - Democratic National Committee Memorandum: "Republican National Committee: Trump's Chaos Presidency"

Aug. 14, 2020 - Security Restrictions for the 2020 Republican National Convention [PDF]

Aug. 12, 2020 - CREW: OSC Should Weigh in on Trump Accepting Nomination from White House,+

Aug. 11, 2020 - 2020 Republican National Convention to Livestream Aug. 24 Presidential Nomination in Charlotte, NC

Aug. 5, 2020 - 2020 Republican National Convention Announces Health Protocols for Official Convention Business

also see: Instead of Convention, Charlotte Will Get a Business Meeting.  Wasted Work in Charlotte.  CLT Host 2020, Inc. Organization.

- logo evolution -
  



and:
Matthew Haag.  "N.Y.C. Tenants Say They Were Tricked Into Appearing in R.N.C. Video."  New York Times, Aug. 28, 2020.

Halle Kiefer.  "Leonard Cohen's Estate Wants You to Know They 'Specifically Declined' the RNC's Use of 'Hallelujah'", New York, Aug. 28, 2020.

Julie Bykowicz.  "Trump Hotel Is RNC Annex, Abuzz With Republican Players." Wall Street Journal, Aug. 26, 2020.

Kevin Robillard, Amanda Terkel, and Philip Lewis.  "Trump Hotel At Center of RNC Festivities."  HuffPost, Aug, 26, 2020.

Morgan Chalfant.  "Ex-White House aide who sued Trump overseeing speechwriting for convention."  The Hill, Aug. 25, 2020.  [Cliff Sims]

also:
Curly Haugland.  "Open letter to all members of the Republican Party: Without a Convention, there is no Party!"  curly.substack.com, Apr. 23, 2022.

________________________

Jacksonville's Gamble
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry took a big gamble in securing the Republican National Convention celebration, and it ultimately did not pay off.  A 2020 Jacksonville Host Committee Inc. formed on June 8.  After Jacksonville won the prize on June 11, the committee ramped up to start raising contributions and organizing volunteers.  It found tough going due to the pandemic.  The spike in coronavirus cases in Florida (+) raised doubts about the event, and there was considerable opposition in the community, creating an air of unreality around the whole endeavor.  Planning and work proceeded for six weeks until on July 23 President Trump announced he would not go ahead with the Jacksonville events. 
Jacksonville, in Northeastern Florida, has a population of almost 938,000; the regional population is almost 1.7 million.  According to Google, Jacksonville "is the most populous city in Florida as well as the southeastern United States, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States."  




 
 
fb/MarchOnTheRNCJax

Selected Press Releases
 [please send press releases and suggestions to action08 at gmail] 

July 23, 2020 - President Trump nixes the Jacksonville component of the convention.

July 23, 2020 - Coalition To March On The RNC, Take Em Down Jax Plan Press Conference for July 24 2020.

July 16, 2020 - 2020 Jacksonville Host Committee: Memo on Major Convention Updates.

July 15,-16, 2020 - CAO Brian Hughes' responses and further questions.

July 8, 2020 - Memorandum from Jacksonville City Council President Tommy Hazouri to Chief Administrative Officer Brian Hughes.

July 8, 2020 - Lawsuit seeks to block convention in Jacksonville. [PDF]

July 6, 2020 - Pastors' letter: For the Safety of Our Community. [PDF]

June 27, 2020 - Physicians' Letter to Jacksonville Mayor Requesting Masks and Social Distancing at RNC.

June 25, 2020 - 2020 Republican National Convention: New Logo.

June 11-12, 2020 - Announcement and reactions.



and:
Marc Caputo.  "'We can't pull it off': Florida sheriff says he can't muster security for GOP convention."  Politico, July 20, 2020.

Annie Karni and Patricia Mazzei. "DeSantis Is Said to Quietly Hinder Fund-Raising for Trump Convention."  New York Times, July 9, 2020.

Annie Karni, Rebecca R. Ruiz and Kenneth Vogel.  "How the Republican Convention Created Money Woes in Two Cities."  New York Times, July 4, 2020.





Recent Conventions: 2016 Cleveland -  2012 Tampa-St. Petersburg  - 2008 Minneapolis-St. Paul - 2004 New York City - 2000 Philadelphia

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