Charlotte, North Carolina, will be the site of President Donald Trump's renomination by Republican delegates.
Exactly what happens after that, Trump is keeping everyone guessing.
Trump, who on Monday indicated he would be in Charlotte on Aug. 24 for the Republican National Convention, said Tuesday night that he would deliver his acceptance speech on Aug. 27 _ but he did not name a site.
"We'll be doing a speech on Thursday, the main speech, the primary speech. Charlotte, they will be doing nominating on Monday. That's a different period, different thing happening. They'll be doing nominations on Monday. I speak on Thursday."
Asked where he would give that speech _ and if it would be in Charlotte _ Trump, a former reality TV star, played up the suspense.
"We'll be announcing it soon. Anybody have any ideas? We'll be announcing it very soon," Trump said during a news conference at the White House.
The comments are slightly different from what Trump said Monday during a visit to a North Carolina biotech facility where he promoted vaccine production for the coronavirus. During a television interview, Trump was asked where he would deliver his acceptance speech.
"All I know is I'll be in North Carolina, and that's a very big deal because we have a lot of the delegates there, and that will be a nomination process. And that's essentially where the nomination, where it's formalized, and I'm really honored to do it in North Carolina," Trump said in an interview with WRAL that was posted late Monday evening.
The Republican National Committee, which puts on the convention, plans to have 336 delegates in Charlotte for the business portion of the convention on Monday, Aug. 24. The business portion includes the formal nominations of Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
The 336 delegates represent six from each state and territory. There are about 2,550 delegates.
Asked if Trump would be accepting the nomination in North Carolina, an RNC spokesperson said: "Planning is ongoing for the rest of the week."
When asked earlier Monday during his visit to Fujifilm Diosynth, a biotech manufacturing facility in Research Triangle Park, about the convention, Trump said: "Well, we're actually coming to North Carolina, as you know. We're having a very major, I guess that would be the nomination night, so that's Monday.
"That'll be Monday, they are going to be here. And the rest we'll do in a different form. We could have done it many different ways. But I think we did the right thing (in canceling the convention events in Florida). I am really happy that we are going to be having a piece of it, at least, and a very important piece, in North Carolina."
During a telephone event with North Carolina voters last weekend, Trump said "our first day, we're going there."
"We're actually going to spend one day, because I like the state so much ... our first day we're going there. That would be the Monday. We're going to have a lot of our delegates there and we're going to do everything we can."
Trump moved the RNC to Jacksonville, Florida, after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, refused to guarantee that Republicans could have full attendance without social distancing and without masks at the late August event. But Trump on July 23 canceled the Jacksonville portion due to the coronavirus pandemic and a spike in Florida.
He said Cooper told him "the most you can have is 10 people" and Trump said he thinks he meant it.
"So we're going to go there on a Monday, and we're going to then go someplace else," Trump said during the telephone event.
Cooper said his administration has not heard from anyone about a Trump visit at that time.
"He's welcome to come," Cooper said Tuesday afternoon. "But nothing has changed about our resolve to keep health and safety first. We have not heard anything from the administration or the RNC about this."
Democrats called the situation "embarrassing."
"This entire fiasco is a testament to Donald Trump's bungled response to the coronavirus in the first place. After all these rides on the merry-go-round, it's hard to imagine how he could make this situation any more embarrassing for himself and the Republican Party," said Austin Cook, communications director for the North Carolina Democratic Party, in a statement.
"It seems obvious that a man who's incapable of managing his own party's convention certainly can't be trusted to lead this country out of a pandemic and an economic recession."
Trump carried North Carolina in 2016 en route to his Electoral College victory. A new poll by Morning Consult shows Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden tied in the state. Biden has held a small polling edge in 11 of the last 13 polls in the state.
Democrats plan to hold a mostly virtual four-day convention in Milwaukee, beginning Aug. 17. Attendees will have to wear a mask and socially distance. The televised portion has been cut down to two hours each night. Biden is expected to speak at the event in Milwaukee with a small crowd.
