RNC Moves Convention To Florida – Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced that the Republican National Convention, originally slated to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, will now take place in Jacksonville, Florida. While some events will still happen in Charlotte due to contractual obligations, the main events, including Trump’s nomination speech, will take place in Jacksonville. The change of venue comes after North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said he would not guarantee permits for full attendance at the Spectrum Arena in Charlotte due to Covid-19, prompting President Trump to have the RNC look for a new location.
Milley, Esper Apologize – The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley apologized for his participation in a photo-op with President Trump in front of a boarded-up church outside the White House last week. Calling the move a “mistake,” Milley said that his presence at the photo-op “created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.” Prior to Milley’s apology, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that he wasn’t aware that President Trump’s trip outside the White House would be for a photo-op, and said that he wouldn’t have participated in it if he had been aware. President Trump responded to Milley and Esper in an interview on Fox News, saying that he’s “fine” with their regret, and said that he thought taking that picture was a good idea and sent the right message.
Trump Won’t Consider Changing Names Of Military Bases – President Trump said that he would not consider changing the names of military bases named after Confederate generals. In a statement and in tweets, the president rejected calls for the renaming of 10 military bases, saying that heroes who trained “on these hallowed grounds” won two World Wars for the United States. Because of this, Trump said that “my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations,” as it would be meddling with American history. Trump’s comments on the matter come as leaders search for ways to scrub the US of relics from the time of slave ownership, and specifically of references to the Confederacy, which fought to preserve slavery in the US. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy recently said that they are open to a discussion regarding removing the names of Confederate generals from military bases. Two prominent bases that are named after Confederate generals are Ft. Bragg in North Carolina and Ft. Hood in Texas.
National Covid-19 Cases Rising – At least 19 states have seen a spike in new Covid-19 infections since Memorial Day, as more states follow through with plans to open up. In Arizona, new cases have jumped 93% in the past week alone, with some worried that a rising number of new hospitalizations will overwhelm hospitals. President Trump has not spoken about the rising number of cases, and the White House Covid-19 Response Team has not held a press conference in several weeks.