Florida Voters to Trump: Keep Your Virus-Bomb Convention Away From Us
President Donald Trump wants the Republican National Convention to move to Jacksonville, but new polling indicates the feeling may not be mutual. Trumps refusal to give up his dream of packing thousands of Republicans into an arena led the party to move its main festivities from Charlotte, North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida, a city with fewer coronavirus-imposed restrictions. The move came after Governor Roy Cooper couldnt guarantee that North Carolina would host the event just as it would have operated pre-pandemic, given the safety risks that come with accommodating around 20,000 people.
Yet despite Trump acting like this whole public health crisis is over, and yet again Tuesday praising his handling of it, Florida Politics reported a new RABA Research poll showing a majority of the voters in Duvalthe county that makes up most of Jacksonvillealso fear the consequences of hosting the convention in the midst of a pandemic. The poll, commissioned by Republican Voters Against Trump, found only 39% of people who support the Convention coming to Jacksonville while 49% said they did not. And the percentage of those opposing the convention grew to 52% once presented with, the report notes, with pros (filling hotels and boosting the economy) and cons (costing the city million, risking new COVID-19 infections). Only 39% supported Jacksonville hosting the RNC in light of this additional context.
Given that the poll was conducted before Trumps disastrous return to the campaign trail, the low turnout at Trumps Tulsa, Oklahoma rally on Saturday likely had as much to do with people afraid of contracting a deadly disease as TikTok teens. Trump staffers themselves have tested positive for COVID-19, including six members of the campaigns advance team before the Tulsa event. Two other campaign staffersboth of whom attended the rally while wearing maskshave since tested positive, according to the Wall Street Journals Michael C. Bender.
The findings come as cases surge in the state, with Florida witnessing its largest daily increase in new infections this past weekend, Politico reported. The Florida Department of Health confirmed 4,671 cases on Saturdayincluding in Jacksonville, Florida Politics notes, where Duval County added a record 264 cases.
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