Trump nomination to be held in private, convention spokesperson says

The vote to nominate President Trump will be held in private later this month, without members of the press present, Republican National Convention officials confirmed to The Associated Press and CNN. 

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette first reported the news. 

On Aug. 24, Republican delegates are scheduled to gather in Charlotte, N.C., to formally vote to make Trump the GOP nominee. The vote itself will reportedly be livestreamed. 

The move was reportedly made to reduce the amount of people present to avoid the spread of the coronavirus. The vote was already scaled down from 2,550 to 336 delegates, or one person per every six delegates. 

“Given the health restrictions and limitations in place within the state of North Carolina, we are planning for the Charlotte activities to be closed press Friday, August 21 – Monday, August 24,” a convention spokeswoman told the outlets in a statement Saturday.

Convention officials did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Hill.

A Republican National Committee official told The Hill in a statement that “no final decision has been made and we are still working through logistics and press coverage options.”

Trump called off the public components of the convention in Jacksonville, Fla., last month, citing concerns about the surging number of coronavirus cases in the country and the state.

Nominating conventions usually render heavy media coverage as the party pushes its platform out to voters. 

A Republican National Convention official told CNN that Trump is not expected to accept the nomination with a public speech. If he is physically present at the convention, he will most likely thank delegates in private, without press present. 

Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller, the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, said the move is an “ill-advised decision” that should be reconsidered. 

“The nomination of a major party presidential candidate is very much the business of the American people,” he said.

This is an ill-advised decision that the @GOP @GOPconvention should reconsider. The nomination of a major party presidential candidate is very much the business of the American people. @whca https://t.co/5661rRgRXK

— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) August 1, 2020