Gov.
Ron DeSantis will be at the White House for a Friday event with President
Donald Trump, one day after Trump canceled events scheduled in Florida next
month for the Republican National Convention amid the coronavirus pandemic.
DeSantis will be at the afternoon signing of an executive order aimed at lowering prescription drug prices, a longtime shared goal of both administrations.
Trump
had already moved the convention’s public events out of North Carolina because
of virus concerns. But the spiking virus shifted south, too, and the planned
gathering in Jacksonville increasingly appeared to be both a health and
political risk.
Trump
and his advisers feared that going forward with big parties and “infomercial”
programming in Florida would ultimately backfire on the president.
“It’s
a different world, and it will be for a little while,” Trump said, explaining
his decision at a White House coronavirus briefing Thursday. “To have a big
convention is not the right time.”
A small subset of GOP delegates will still formally re-nominate
Trump on Aug. 24 in Charlotte, North Carolina, at an event scheduled to last
just four hours.
Trump
had decided last month to shift the ceremonial portions of the GOP convention
to Florida because of a dispute with North Carolina’s Democratic leaders over
holding an indoor gathering with throngs of supporters taking a pass on face
masks.
Trump
said he plans to deliver his nomination acceptance speech in an alternate form
still to be determined — perhaps online. Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien
said the campaign will still “provide exciting, informative, and enthusiastic
programming so Republicans can celebrate the re-nomination of President Trump
and Vice President Pence.”
