Well, this was predictable:

President Trump announced Thursday he’s canceling the Jacksonville, Florida, portion of the Republican National Convention next month, citing the raging coronavirus crisis.

Speaking from the White House briefing room, Mr. Trump said delegates will formally nominate him in Charlotte, North Carolina, but he did not announce where his speech will take place. Much of the convention had already been moved from its original site in Charlotte to Jacksonville. Continue Reading...

Raising money for a last-minute convention that may not happen is not so easy:

Republicans are scrambling to raise millions of dollars after President Donald Trump moved most of the event from Charlotte. They say they’ve received several millions in commitments toward a fundraising goal of $20 to $25 million, but declined to be more specific.

Convention fundraising typically occurs over a span of two years. But after Trump clashed with North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper over his refusal to allow a full-fledged convention, Republicans launched a new multi-million-dollar drive in order to pull off a separate event in a different state. Continue Reading...

I mean, none of this could be predicted, right?  First, the Times goes deep on the money problem:

The abrupt uprooting of the Republican National Convention from Charlotte to Jacksonville has created a tangled financial predicament for party officials as they effectively try to pay for two big events instead of one.

Tens of millions of dollars have already been spent in a city that will now host little more than a G.O.P. business meeting, and donors are wary of opening their wallets again to bankroll a Jacksonville gathering thrown into uncertainty by a surge in coronavirus cases. Continue Reading...