NC governor responds to Trump RNC tweet

Three months before the Republican National Convention is scheduled to kick off in Charlotte, North Carolina, President Donald Trump is threatening to accept his candidate nomination somewhere else.

In a series of tweets on Monday, Trump wrote he'd look to hold the convention elsewhere if COVID-19 restrictions aren't eased and a full crowd isn't permitted at the August event.

Still, Trump's demands are putting pressure on public health officials and local Republicans as virus cases surge and the host county tallies more cases and deaths than anywhere else in the state.

Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper's administration has refused to give in to the pressure.

It responded with a letter demanding a written safety plan from organizers of the Republican National Convention "as soon as possible," noting Trump's tweets amount to an "accelerated decision-making timeline."

"I'm not surprised by anything that I see on Twitter," Cooper said at a news conference on Tuesday. "I will say that it's OK for political conventions to be political but pandemic response cannot be."

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has already offered to host the convention in his state instead.

The Republican National Convention is set to begin on August 24, 2020.

On Tuesday, Mecklenburg County had at least 3,400 COVID-19 cases and 73 deaths. A third of the cases were tallied in the past two weeks.

"We're talking about something that is going to happen three months from now," Cooper said. "We don't know what our situation is going to be regarding COVID-19 in North Carolina."

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

The vast majority of people recover.