Democratic National Convention Postponed to August Due to Coronavirus
By Jazz Tangcay
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The Democratic National Convention has been postponed to the week of Aug. 17 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The four-day convention was meant to take place from July 13 to July 16 in Milwaukee. The convention — which is expected to draw about 50,000 visitors to the key swing state — will now take place just a week before the Republican Convention in Charlotte, N.C.
“We believe the smartest approach is to take additional time to monitor how this situation unfolds so we can best position our party for a safe and successful convention,” DNC CEO Joe Solmonese said in a statement. “During this critical time, when the scope and scale of the pandemic and its impact remain unknown, we will continue to monitor the situation and follow the advice of health care professionals and emergency responders.”
The Republican convention is set to start on Aug. 24. In an interview with Sean Hannity on March 26, President Trump said there was “no way” the convention would be canceled.
“Somebody was asking today, ‘Will you cancel the convention?’ I said, ‘No way I’m going to cancel the convention,’” Trump said. “It’s going to be incredible.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden had previously indicated that a delay was likely.
“I doubt whether the Democratic Convention is going to be able to be held in early July, mid-July,” he said in an interview with Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday. “I think it’s going to have move into August. … You just have to be prepared for the alternative, and the alternative — we don’t know what it’s going to be.”
The coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the country, prompting event cancellations or postponements. DNC chair Tom Perez reiterated that the health and safety of attendees, and the people of Milwaukee was their top priority.
“Leadership means being able to adapt, and that’s exactly what our party is doing,” Perez said. “The city of Milwaukee has been an incredible partner, especially over the past few weeks as we’ve confronted this global crisis, and we couldn’t be more committed to highlighting Wisconsin as a key battleground state, as it is at the center of so many of Trump’s broken promises.”
