MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd August, 2020) The Republican National Convention (RNC) set to take place in Charlotte, North Carolina, later this month will be closed to members of the press, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.
"[W]e are planning for all of the Charlotte activities to be closed press: Friday, August 21 - Monday, 24th given the health restrictions and limitations in place in the state," a convention spokesperson told the newspaper, adding that reporters will also be kept from the room when the Republican National Committee meets to conduct official party business.
It is unclear whether the C-SPAN broadcaster will be allowed to air the RNC, where party members will nominate President Donald Trump to stand in the November election.
"We are happy to let you know if this changes, but we are working within the parameters set before us by state and local guidelines regarding the number of people who can attend events," the convention spokesperson told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
It would be the first Republican presidential nominating convention without reporters, if no last-minute changes are made.
The Jacksonville, Florida leg of the convention was cancelled after Trump said that the event could not go ahead as planned because the state is experiencing a spike in novel coronavirus cases.
The Republicans moved part of the convention to Florida from North Carolina last month over worries that state and local authorities would not accommodate Trump's push for a large event to begin the final stretch of his 2020 campaign. However, a new spike in coronavirus cases in the south has forced Republican officials to begin scaling back plans for the convention.
According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the number of delegates at the RNC has been decreased from 2,550 to 336.
Meanwhile the Democratic National Convention, set to take place on August 17-20, is expected to have a total of 300 people attending, according to US media reports.
