With Little Fanfare, The RNC (For One Day) Is Here

 

It was once supposed to bring 50,000 people to Charlotte. Now, with the Republican National Convention a few days away, it’s going to be a much smaller affair.

Charlotte’s time in the (small) spotlight begins this weekend when members of the Republican National Committee meet. Then on Monday, Aug. 24, the official Republican National Convention convenes – for one day – to nominate the president.

In this edition of Inside Politics, we look at how the GOP plans to keep its 500 delegates and officials safe – as well as the rest of the city. We’ll also look at the so-called “shadow convention” of “never-Trump Republicans” that’s scheduled to begin on the same day President Trump is nominated.

We spoke with the RNC’s health consultant, Dr. Jeffrey Runge. He’s a former medical director for the Department of Homeland Security and used to do clinical research at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.

He said that, as far as he knows, this is the largest sanctioned event in North Carolina since the pandemic started.

“I know the state let the NASCAR race happen at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but I’m not sure there was a big crowd there,” Runge said. “We have a different risk profile from the average race fan, and we have put in numerous steps to mitigate what would be a riskier event.”

Runge was the RNC health director when the GOP wanted a full Spectrum Center and no masks or social distancing.

The new health plan is far more detailed. The RNC has sent self-swab coronavirus tests to everyone coming to Charlotte. After they take that first test, the Atrium and Novant health systems will test them again when they arrive at the Westin hotel in uptown.

Runge said he doesn’t think there will be any cases at the convention. But with 500 people coming, it’s a possibility. And he said that would not be the end of the world.

“The planning doctrine that we use is centered around planning and protection,” he said. “We will obviously not have someone who is symptomatic. They would not be part of the meetings, and we would steer them into one of the two health care systems. We have a web application that’s smartphone-enabled with telemedicine. We have on-site medical responders at the Convention Center to help us with secondary screening.”

When the convention starts, Runge said delegates won’t be able to move their chairs — something that’s being done to make sure that they stay 6 feet apart. And they’ll have to wear masks at all times.

They also will have badges equipped with Bluetooth technology. The movements of the badges are tracked, and if the badge comes in close contact with another badge, that is recorded as well.

“When we discovered it, it was a really good answer to the (problem of contact tracing),” Runge said. “ Which was: Should there be the unthinkable happening, meaning people becoming infected and they go off to 50 states, there was no way we could conscionably dump that on the Mecklenburg County Health Department. Contact tracing is a time-sensitive thing. So trying to find people all over the country and their health departments would just be a nightmare.”

Runge said they won’t have access to the data from the badges unless someone gets sick. Then they enter that person’s code to see who they have been in contact with.

“This is completely private,” he said. “The badges have a number, and we will know what numbers are in contact with other numbers. And they won’t be identified as a person unless there is someone who is positive with COVID. And in that case, we can break the code and see which badge belongs to which attendee and make sure they are notified as soon as possible.”

During the convention, the delegates will be in a semi-bubble: They will eat breakfast and lunch in the hotel or the Convention Center. But they are free to leave at night. Runge said he hopes they take their badges with them, but he admitted they might not.

And while some Republicans have been hesitant to wear masks, Runge said everyone will be wearing them.

“The delegates have been told and have been reminded that we will have 100% mask compliance in indoor public spaces and in any situation where you can’t effectively socially distance,” he said.

Runge said the GOP considered creating a full bubble, just like the NBA has done at Walt Disney World in Florida.

“Our planning cell discussed that, and I had the discussion with the state and suggested that it would perhaps be less risky to have a group of 300 or 400 people in a banquet hall with seated plate and service and they don’t get up and walk around and there’s not an unseated reception,” he said.

But he said he doesn’t think the state was comfortable with having 500 people eating together in one room.

“And I think it was just a bridge too far for them to bend the rules that far,” he said. “They had discussions when they were forming the executive order language, and the rules are very clear that the rules for restaurants do not apply to hotel banquet facilities. I think we sort of reached a point of equipoise between perfect bubble safety and giving them box meals for breakfast and lunch and then letting them go out in the Charlotte community for dinner.”

Shadow Convention

While the RNC delegates will be staying at the Westin, there is another convention of Republicans taking place at the Dunhill hotel that’s six blocks away.

It’s called the Convention on Founding Principles, and it’s a meeting of “never-Trump Republicans.” Their convention starts on Monday, Aug. 24, the same day Trump is nominated at the Convention Center.

It’s being organized by former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr and former CIA officer Evan McMullin, who ran as a third-party candidate in 2016.

Orr said their Charlotte contingent will be small, but they wanted to have a presence here at the same time as the RNC.

“You know, unfortunately, because of the COVID limitations, we’re going to just have the basic group there,” Orr said. “I’ve had a number of people call or email and they’ve said, ‘Can I come to Charlotte?’ And, well, regrettably, no.”

Most of the speakers at this convention will be speaking remotely from around the country. These are people like former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director Michael Hayden and former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman.

Another speaker is former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci.

Who’s going to give their culminating speech on Aug. 27, the same night Trump is expected to give his acceptance speech?

“You know, that’s a great question,” Orr said. “We’ve sort of kicked that question back and forth as to what’s the appropriate or best response to that. We’ll try and have an appropriate culmination for our convention.”

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