Media now BANNED from the drastically scaled-down Republican Convention after Donald Trump was forced to cancel plans to relocate to Florida – but main events will still be live-streamed
- Reporters and media will no longer be permitted to attend and cover in-person the Republican National Convention later this month
- 'We are planning for all of the Charlotte activities to be closed press,' a spokesperson for the convention revealed to an Arkansas outlet on Saturday
- The RNC relocated the events to Florida earlier this summer after coronavirus restrictions had been loosened in the Sunshine State
- It moved the convention back to North Carolina after cases surged in Florida
- Governor Roy Cooper imposed crowd limitations for the convention, causing the RNC to limit the number of people who can attend – including barring press
- The vote to make Trump the official Republican nominee will be live-streamed
Media are no longer allowed to attend the Republican National Convention in North Carolina later this month, reports revealed this weekend.
At the convention, which is usually riddled with reporters, delegates will officially vote to nominate President Donald Trump as the party's candidate in November and he will formally receive his party's nomination in a speech.
Trump initially pressured the Republican National Committee to move the main events from Charlotte, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida so he could give his acceptance speech to a full arena in an area with looser coronavirus restrictions.
The still-soaring coronavirus cases forced Trump to cancel in July the part of the convention planned for Florida, and move the venue back to North Carolina.
'We are planning for all of the Charlotte activities to be closed press: Friday, August 21-Monday, 24th given the health restrictions and limitations in place in the state,' the convention spokesperson told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
Reporters and media will no longer be permitted to attend and cover in-person the Republican National Convention later this month – but the vote to officially make Trump the Republican nominee will still be live-streamed
The RNC moved the location back to North Carolina after Trump's desire to have a large crowd in Florida was foiled by case surges there
With North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper restricting the number of attendees permitted, the RNC decided to take media out of the mix of those attending the events in-person
'We are working within the parameters set before us by state and local guidelines regarding the number of people who can attend events,' the spokesperson continued.
The vote to formally nominate Trump will be live-streamed, according to CNN, which cited a Republican official.
An RNC official, according to the president of the White House Correspondents' Association and Associated Press Reporter Zeke Miller, said the move is not set in stone.
'An RNC official now says that the decision is not final and that they are still working through press coverage options,' Miller tweeted Saturday.
The idea to ban members of the press, Republican officials claim, is in response to attendance limitations imposed by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.
'This is an ill-advised decision that the @GOP @GOPconvention should reconsider,' Miller posted in his duo of tweets.
'The nomination of a major party presidential candidate is very much the business of the American people.'
Trump has been forced to scrap his signature rallies because of the coronavirus epidemic, which is killing more than 1,000 Americans a day
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