Political News

The recent history of hurricanes and the RNC

It's nothing new for a hurricane to make landfall during the Republican National Convention. The RNC typically takes place in August, which also happens to be when hurricane season is starting to peak.

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By
Lauren Dezenski
, CNN
CNN — It's nothing new for a hurricane to make landfall during the Republican National Convention. The RNC typically takes place in August, which also happens to be when hurricane season is starting to peak.

In 2008, organizers pared down the start of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, because of Hurricane Gustav. The storm raked the Caribbean before hitting Louisiana's coast as a Category 2 hurricane. At the time, presumptive Republican nominee John McCain said it wouldn't be appropriate to hold a political celebration during the storm.

"I pledge that tomorrow night, and if necessary, throughout our convention ... to act as Americans, not Republicans, because America needs us now no matter whether we are Republican or Democrat," McCain said ahead of the convention.

Another storm coincided with the 2012 convention, this time impacting the event itself in Tampa, Florida.

Tropical Storm Isaac -- which then became Hurricane Isaac as it crept north just off Florida's Gulf Coast -- prompted organizers to cancel the first day of the RNC because of stormy conditions. Florida's and Alabama's governors canceled their convention visits. Then-Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal pulled out of his speaking slot because of the storm, which ultimately struck his state as a Category 1 storm.

As Hurricane Laura approached the Gulf Coast on Wednesday night, Vice President Mike Pence offered words of support for those in its path, calling it a "serious storm."

Just after midnight, Laura slammed into the coast of Louisiana and eastern Texas as a Category 4 storm. Ahead of his acceptance speech tonight, President Donald Trump visited FEMA headquarters in Washington for a briefing on the hurricane.

Trump said he was prepared to postpone his acceptance speech until Monday depending on how severe the hurricane damage was, but he has decided to deliver it tonight as planned.

"It was very big, it was very powerful, but it passed quickly. And so everything is going to be on schedule," Trump said. He told reporters he may visit hard-hit areas in Louisiana and Texas this weekend.

Trump is expected to address Hurricane Laura in his remarks tonight, "and the preparations that have been made, and ask for God's blessing for the people who are in his path," Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told reporters.

The Point: Less powerful hurricanes have delayed Republican conventions in the past or made high-profile attendees leave to respond to the storm. But this already-reworked RNC -- due to the coronavirus pandemic -- will continue as planned.

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