JUDY WOODRUFF: And now we return to the president's
announcement that the Republican National
Convention will no longer be in Florida.
Our Yamiche Alcindor is here with the latest.
So, Yamiche, tell us about the news the president
made this evening.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: That's right, Judy.
The president began the White House briefing
today with big news, that he was canceling
the Florida event attached to the Republican
National Convention. He's doing this after
having moved those events and his speech from
North Carolina after the Democratic governor
there said that it was simply not possible
to have thousands of people gather in that
state safely.
I want to read to you some of the reactions
that are coming in.
Here's the Republican mayor of Jacksonville,
as well as the sheriff. They said both: "We
appreciate President Trump considering our
public health and safety concerns in making
this incredibly difficult decision."
The White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows,
also said that this was an incredibly difficult
decision. But Republicans -- but, Democrats,
rather are saying really this is coming way
too late.
The Florida Democratic chair says that this
is really President Trump taking his head
out of the sand. She says that this was a
political stunt that was -- that really wasted
time and this is all ego-driven.
So, the president, though, is saying that
he's taking this step to keep people safe.
I should note, Judy, that the president is
continuing to press for children to return
to school.
So, even though he's saying that there are
thousands of people who should not gather
for a political convention, he is saying that
children should be returning to school. And
that was also a headline coming out of this
White House briefing.
JUDY WOODRUFF: It's interesting, Yamiche,
because there had been advice. People, medical
experts were saying it was not safe to hold
a large event in Jacksonville.
And yet the president and the people around
him continued to say they were going to hold
that convention in Jacksonville for many weeks.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: That's right.
Democrats made the decision weeks ago that
most of their convention was going to be happening
online and virtually. But the president had
continued to push forward with this idea that
he wanted thousands of people to be there.
The president now is saying that he's going
to give some sort of speech. He's not sure
where from. It's probably going to be from
Washington, D.C. It's probably going to be
streamed online.
But it's just up in the air as of now. But
it is clear that the president does not want
thousands of people to be gathering in Florida.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And it's all due to begin,
just over a month away.
Yamiche Alcindor at the White House, thank
you very much.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Thanks.
