Citing coronavirus, Biden will not attend Democratic convention

Presumptive Democratic White House nominee Joe Biden will not travel to Milwaukee later this month to accept his party’s nomination in person.

“From the very beginning of this pandemic, we put the health and safety of the American people first,” said Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez. “We followed the science, listened to doctors and public health experts, and we continued making adjustments to our plans in order to protect lives. That’s the kind of steady and responsible leadership America deserves. And that’s the leadership Joe Biden will bring to the White House.”

Neither the Biden campaign nor DNC officials offered details about how Biden might accept the nomination, which even in the pandemic could be a made-for-screen event that reaches tens of millions of voters via television and online.

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A DNC official told the Associated Press all speakers and presenters for the Aug. 17-24 convention are now expected to speak from remote locations.

The convention, which has already been postponed once, is expected to draw only a few hundred attendees. The event was once forecast to draw more than 50,000 delegates, journalists and VIPs to Milwaukee.

Democratic officials have told members of Congress and other party leaders not to attend this year’s convention. All of the party’s business will be conducted virtually and online. The convention is scheduled Aug. 17-20.

Biden is set to announce his running mate soon.

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On the other side of the national political spectrum, GOP officials are reportedly undecided whether this month’s Republican National Convention will be closed to the media.

On Sunday, RNC spokesperson Michael Ahrens told CNN “no final decision has been made” whether reporters will be allowed to cover the convention in person. Ahrens’ comments came one day after a convention spokesperson said the convention would be closed to the press and that some events would be livestreamed.

Also on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he’s considering delivering his Republican convention acceptance speech from the White House.

Like the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, the GOP convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been scaled down dramatically.

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Several weeks ago, North Carolina’s Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, said the city and state could not support a full convention unless it had significant coronavirus safety measures. President Donald Trump then announced the search was on for another site that would host his renomination, setting off a fury of media speculation and pleas from other governors, including Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, to bring the convention to their state.

Eventually, Trump and the RNC settled on Jacksonville, Florida. But two weeks ago, Trump announced all of the convention’s Florida events were called off due to a coronavirus spike.

Trump’s formal renomination will still go forward in North Carolina, where a small subset of GOP delegates will gather in Charlotte for four hours Aug. 24. Florida was to have hosted four nights of programming and parties that Trump had hoped would be a “four-night infomercial” for his reelection. “It’s a different world, and it will be for a little while,” Trump said, explaining his decision. “To have a big convention is not the right time.”

Last week, Trump speculated to reporters he was considering delivering his renomination speech in Washington, which was later disputed by Vice President Mike Pence, who said Trump would indeed speak in North Carolina.