President Trump accused North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper of “playing politics” with reopening the state following stay-at-home orders aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19.
The President made the comments when he was asked about the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled to take place in Charlotte in August, by a reporter from The Washington Examiner.
“We’ll have a convention,” Trump told the news outlet. “I’m a traditionalist, but we’ll have to see, like everything else, but I think we’ll be in good shape by that time. We have a great state, North Carolina, that’s been very, very good. Although, it’s got a Democrat governor, so we have to be a little bit careful. It’s got a Democrat governor, so we have to be a little bit careful with that because they’re playing politics. They’re playing politics, as you know, by delaying the openings.”
Trump added: “To me that’s politics. They think it’s a bad thing for me if they delay the opening. I think it’s bad for them. And you have people protesting outside, and those people like Trump.”
According to Fox 46, Gov. Cooper has said numerous times that his actions regarding the pandemic are dictated by public health officials.
Roughly 4,000 lives were saved and about 40,000 hospitalizations were avoided in the Charlotte area as a result of state-home orders, according to estimates from the Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC).