President Donald Trump placed blame on the "China virus" for having to cancel in-person events at the Republican National Convention.
Trump was on Fox News Channel's "Hannity" Thursday night and said the decision to cancel the convention in Jacksonville, Florida, was a public health call.
"It's really the China virus. Call it COVID, call it any one of a lot of different names," he said. "We're setting an example. We don't want to have people so close together. We've had such enthusiasm, everybody wanted to go."
Trump then took a veiled shot at North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who told the Republican Party that it could only hold the convention in Charlotte — the original site of the every-four-years event — if strict protocols were in place to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
"You know we went to North Carolina, we wanted to do it there, it was all set. We were gonna build a beautiful facility, but it got hit hard and the governor then really — he could have treated us better, Democrat governor," Trump said.
"We are actually opening up there, and then we'll make our way — it won't be your typical convention, I can say that. But it's gonna be very safe. And I thought I had an obligation to not have large numbers, massive numbers of people crowded into a room."
In the wake of reports that suggested the RNC could be moved to an outside venue with fewer people in Jacksonville, Trump announced Thursday that the event was canceled.
Earlier this week, Duval County Sheriff Mike Williams said he would not be able to ensure the proper level of security needed for the convention because of the short timeline. Jacksonville was selected to host the event in early June.
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