The DNC announced that the 2020 Democratic National Convention would be moved entirely online this year after several people at the Milwaukee site tested positive for COVID-19, reports the Daily Beast.
“As testing increased this week, our system detected three cases which have been reported to the health department and given instructions to self-isolate,” a convention aide said.
The presumptive democratic nominee, Joe Biden will now broadcast his nomination acceptance speech from a site in Delaware. Additionally, the massive in-person electoral training that Democrats had planned to hold at the convention in Milwaukee will be moved online as well.
Politico reported that Biden’s campaign would be teaming up with the progressive group Arena and Wisconsin’s Democratic Party to “provide free online training to activists to teach them how to get out the vote and persuade swing voters during the convention.”
“In the age of coronavirus, the path to victory for Democrats up and down the ballot has shifted dramatically,” said the executive director of Wisconsin’s Democratic Party, Nellie Sires. “The Democratic Party of Wisconsin and Arena are proud to have the opportunity to pull back the curtain and equip Democratic volunteers across the country with the tools they need.”
This decision comes shortly after RNC officials suggested that the press would be banned from the Republican National Convention out of concern for North Carolina’s social distancing restrictions. Responding to criticism on the decision, Trump has recently suggested accepting his own nomination at the White House instead so that the press would be able to cover the event.
“I’ll probably do mine live from the White House,” Trump said on Fox and Friends. “If for some reason somebody had difficulty with it, I could go with someplace else,” he added.
This did in fact receive pushback from both Democrats and Republicans alike who were concerned about the legal and ethical i
mplications of hosting a political event at the White House, says the Washington Post. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that an acceptance speech “won’t happen” at the White House, while Sen. John Cornyn acknowledged that it would be “problematic.” Sen. Ron Johnson said that a White House acceptance speech is “probably not allowed” and that they “probably shouldn’t do it.”
When asked about Republican concerns about the legality of the White House hosting the event, Trump merely said, “It’s legal,” before moving on.