This is hilarious! Trump will be FUMING! He alienated the entire state of North Carolina now for nothing:
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Jacksonville, the largest city in Florida and host of the Republican National Convention planned for late August, announced Monday that masks will be mandatory in public and indoor locations, as well as in “other situations where individuals cannot socially distance.”
City spokeswoman Nikki Kimbleton told The Washington Post that whether the mandate applies to the convention will be addressed “as we get closer to the event,” noting that it “is still two months away.”
The mask order, which goes into effect Monday evening, is a turn for Mayor Lenny Curry. The former Republican Party of Florida chairman has been “ideologically resistant to passing government mandates,” Politico reported. He said a week ago that he did not plan to issue an order on masks, according to News4Jax, although he encouraged mask-wearing as “the responsible thing.”
“Wearing a mask is not a political statement,” the news station quoted Curry as saying at the time. “It’s about protecting yourself and your loved ones and your neighbors.”
Republicans announced earlier this month that the premier festivities of their convention would be held in Jacksonville instead of Charlotte, after North Carolina officials balked at Trump’s demand to host a mass gathering amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The GOP began its last-minute search for a new site after the president tweeted that he would move the event if he couldn’t get a commitment for large-scale crowds to be permitted. RNC officials had called for a convention with tens of thousands of attendees. They pledged to conduct temperature checks and make masks available.
Trump at one point phoned North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) to lay out his demands for the convention, telling him “we can’t do social distancing.” State officials pressed for a detailed plan on how the convention would be safely hosted.
By June 11, the RNC had announced that Trump’s renomination speech and other major convention features would move to Jacksonville.