Trump says the GOP convention will be moved out of North Carolina unless Gov. Cooper can 'immediately' guarantee the arena can be 'fully occupied'

In a series of tweets Monday morning, President Donald Trump threatened to move the Republican National Convention out of the state of North Carolina unless Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper can "immediately" guarantee that Republicans will be allowed to fill the site to capacity.

Currently, the RNC is scheduled to be held Aug. 24-27 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, which is the home arena of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats.

In his tweets, Trump took aim at Cooper, criticizing him for being in "Shutdown mood" and for being "unable to guarantee that by August we will be allowed full attendance in the arena. In other words, we would be spending millions of dollars building the Arena to a very high standard without even knowing if the Democrat Governor would allow the Republican Party to fully occupy the space."

"Plans are being made by many thousands of enthusiastic Republicans, and others, to head to beautiful North Carolina in August, the president continued. "They must be immediately given an answer by the Governor as to whether or not the space will be allowed to be fully occupied. If not, we will be reluctantly forced to find, with all of the jobs and economic development it brings, another Republican National Convention site. This is not something I want to do. Thank you, and I LOVE the people of North Carolina!"

Vice President Mike Pence underlined Trump's message in a Fox News appearance on Monday, insisting that the GOP was looking at states like Texas, Florida, and Georgia or another state "that is farther along on reopening and can say with confidence that we can gather there."

In response, Gov. Cooper told CNN, "This is not political. This is not emotional. This is based on health experts, data and science and that's it for everybody to see. No one is being favored or disfavored over the other." He further stated that the convention would be treated like any other major gathering event and that it was still unclear to him whether things like concerts or NFL games could return in the fall. Under current North Carolina regulations, any gatherings of over 10 people remain prohibited.