He added, \"Plans are being made by many thousands of enthusiastic Republicans, and others, to head to beautiful North Carolina in August. They must be immediately given an answer by the Governor as to whether or not the space will be allowed to be fully occupied. If not, we will be reluctantly forced to find, with all of the jobs and economic development it brings, another Republican National Convention site. This is not something I want to do. Thank you, and I LOVE the people of North Carolina!\"
The president for weeks has called on governors, sometimes singling them out, to reopen their states and get back to some degree of normalcy even as coronavirus cases continue to rise and officials warn that the virus is not contained. The death toll in the United States continues to inch toward 100,000 and North Carolina on Saturday reported 1,107 new COVID-19 cases -- its highest number yet.
Vice President Mike Pence in an interview on Fox News' \"Fox & Friends\" Monday morning backed up the president, saying that if the state doesn't move quicker to reopen its economy, the GOP might move its national convention in August to a state \"that is farther along on reopening and can say with confidence that, that we can gather there.\"
The governors' Press Secretary Dory MacMillan responded to Trump's tweets in a statement saying, “State health officials are working with the RNC and will review its plans as they make decisions about how to hold the convention in Charlotte. North Carolina is relying on data and science to protect our state's public health and safety.”
Tune into ABC at 1 p.m. ET and ABC News Live at 4 p.m. ET every weekday for special coverage of the novel coronavirus with the full ABC News team, including the latest news, context and analysis.
Later on Monday, the president tweeted that he would like to \"stay in N.C., whose gov. doesn’t even know if he can let people in?\"
The president’s comments come as Democrats have publicly talked about the possibility of holding an all virtual convention if necessary.
ABC News' Will Steakin contributed to this report
What to know about coronavirus:
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