Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will no longer travel to the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee to deliver his acceptance speech as planned.
The former vice president was expected to deliver his acceptance speech at Milwaukee’s Wisconsin Center on August 20, but will now give the speech from his home state of Delaware in light of coronavirus concerns, according to a statement from the DNC.
“After ongoing consultation with public health officials and experts—who underscored the worsening coronavirus pandemic—the Democratic National Convention Committee announced today speakers for the 2020 Democratic National Convention will no longer travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in order to prevent risking the health of our host community as well as the convention’s production teams, security officials, community partners, media and others necessary to orchestrate the event,” the statement said.
“In accordance with this guidance, Vice President Joe Biden will no longer travel to Milwaukee and will instead address the nation and accept the Democratic nomination from his home state of Delaware,” it continued.
Further details about the location of Biden’s speech will be released at a later time, the DNC said.
The convention, which had originally been scheduled to take place in mid-July, had already been delayed to August and dramatically scaled down due to the coronavirus pandemic. The convention would normally draw an expected 50,000 travelers.
“Today’s announcement represents a small adjustment to the overall planning, as the majority of speeches and segments were already taking place in locations across the country,” the DNC said. “Democrats will offer four nights of programming, which will include a mix of both pre-recorded segments and live broadcasts from locations across the country.”
The news comes as President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is considering delivering his Republican National Convention speech from the White House after canceling his plans to deliver the speech in front of a crowd in Charlotte, N.C. due to coronavirus concerns.
“Well we are thinking about it. It would be easiest from the standpoint of security,” he said during an interview with “Fox and Friends.” “We are thinking about doing it from the White House because there’s no movement. It’s easy, and I think it’s a beautiful setting and we are thinking about that. It’s certainly one of the alternatives. It’s the easiest alternative, I think it’s a beautiful alternative.”
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