Update: 2 p.m.
Watch a news conference with Mayor Barrett on Biden no longer appearing in Milwaukee during the Democratic National Convention.
From the Steve Scaffidi Show:
Update: 12:04 p.m.
VISIT Milwaukee President and CEO Peggy-Williams Smith shared a statement about the DNC no long having main speakers appearing at a mainly virtual convention.
“We are deeply disappointed that the DNC will not be the convention we had hoped for or the convention Milwaukee deserved. We understand that the pandemic has wreaked havoc on the entire nation, and that the decisions made by the convention organizers are designed to protect public safety. I want to thank all of our hotel partners, retail businesses, restaurants, bars, event venues, attractions, businesses, donors, and elected leaders who have worked tirelessly for the past 2+years to bring the DNC to Milwaukee. Your dedication, patience, and flexibility has united us as a community to brag about what an amazing city we live in. I am so sorry this will not be the event we wanted it to be. I will continue to work with DNC officials to garner any Milwaukee-centric coverage we can get out of the event.”
-Peggy Williams-Smith, President and CEO of VISIT Milwaukee
Update: 10:45 a.m.
The Democratic National Convention has released a new statement about Biden and other speakers not coming to Milwaukee for their speeches. Read the statement, in part, below:
After ongoing consultation with public health officials and experts—who underscored the worsening coronavirus pandemic—the Democratic National Convention Committee announced today speakers for the 2020 Democratic National Convention will no longer travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in order to prevent risking the health of our host community as well as the convention’s production teams, security officials, community partners, media and others necessary to orchestrate the event.
In accordance with this guidance, Vice President Joe Biden will no longer travel to Milwaukee and will instead address the nation and accept the Democratic nomination from his home state of Delaware. Details about the location of the speech will be released at a later time. Other speakers who had been planning to come to Milwaukee will not travel to the city.
“From the very beginning of this pandemic, we put the health and safety of the American people first. We followed the science, listened to doctors and public health experts, and we continued making adjustments to our plans in order to protect lives. That’s the kind of steady and responsible leadership America deserves. And that’s the leadership Joe Biden will bring to the White House,” said DNC Chair Tom Perez.
Democrats have been working for months to build flexible plans that modernize and transform the convention experience for delegates and viewers across the country. From the start of the pandemic, contingencies were put in place for a successful convention that would ensure public health was protected. Today’s announcement represents a small adjustment to the overall planning, as the majority of speeches and segments were already taking place in locations across the country. Democrats will offer four nights of programming, which will include a mix of both pre-recorded segments and live broadcasts from locations across the country.
“2020 will always be remembered as a year of once-in-a-lifetime challenges and changes—but it will also be remembered as a time when Americans were their most compassionate and resilient selves. While we wish we could move forward with welcoming the world to beautiful Milwaukee in two weeks, we recognize protecting the health of our host community and everyone involved with this convention must be paramount,” said Joe Solmonese, CEO of the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
Original story: 10:35 a.m.
The presumptive Democratic nominee for President says he will not be coming to Milwaukee, the host city of the Democratic National Convention, for his acceptance speech, according to a report.
Joe Biden will not come to Milwaukee’s Wisconsin Center for the acceptance speech expected on August 20 due to coronavirus concerns, according to Bloomberg’s Tyler Pager.
The coronavirus pandemic had already forced the convention, originally set for mid-July, to be delayed to August. It was also dramatically scaled down from the expected 50,000 travelers who would have come.
The Biden campaign did not initially comment on the change of plans, according to Bloomberg.
Check back for more details on this story as they come in to us.
