前副总统乔·拜登其余计划中的大会发言人将不会前往威斯康辛州参加四年一次的民主国民大会根据该委员会周三发布的一份新闻稿，引用了正在进行的冠状病毒大流行。
新闻稿称:“在与公共卫生官员和专家(他们强调了日益恶化的冠状病毒大流行)进行持续磋商后，民主党全国代表大会委员会今天宣布，2020年民主党全国代表大会的发言人将不再前往威斯康星州密尔沃基市，以防止危及我们的东道主社区以及大会制作团队、安全官员、社区合作伙伴、媒体和其他必要人员的健康。”
拜登原定于8月20日在关键的战场州接受民主党提名，现在将接受特拉华州的提名。
“根据这一指导方针，副总统乔·拜登将不再前往密尔沃基，而是在全国发表讲话，接受来自他的家乡特拉华州的民主党提名。”关于演讲地点的细节将在晚些时候公布。其他打算来密尔沃基的演讲者将不会去这个城市。”
不到两周之后，大会的突然变化实际上已经变成了一场完全虚拟的事件。在历史上，大会需要数年时间来规划，是该党提名过程的顶点，通常会吸引成千上万的支持者和党派忠诚者。
“从这场大流行一开始，我们就把美国人民的健康和安全放在首位。我们遵循科学，听取医生和公共卫生专家的意见，我们继续调整我们的计划以保护生命。这是美国应得的稳定和负责任的领导。民主党全国委员会主席汤姆·佩雷斯在声明中说:“这就是拜登将为白宫带来的领导力。”
大会最初定于7月中旬举行，但由于对4月份冠状病毒爆发的担忧，会议被推迟到了8月。
民主党人已经大幅缩减了大会规模，在6月下旬宣布，官员们正计划将真人和虚拟元素混合在一起。但在过去的两个月里，由于冠状病毒阻碍了计划，组织者进一步缩减了活动，敦促国会议员、州代表团和代表不要前往威斯康星州。代表们也完全通过在线投票进行投票，投票从8月3日开始，将持续到8月15日，也就是大会开始的前两天。结果预计将在8月17日，即活动的第一天晚上宣布。
一位了解密尔沃基民主党全国代表大会计划的消息人士称，这一消息“绝对是一记重拳。”消息来源告诉美国广播公司新闻，自从DNCC五月份开始裁员以来，已经有几名官员被蒙在鼓里。
该消息人士说:“他们正试图弄清楚他们将如何处理该公约，我们将如何做，以及将做什么。”
“这绝对是一个令人失望、错失的机会。这不是民主党全国委员会的错，他们什么都做了。这是冠状病毒。”该消息人士补充说，“这是政府不重视科技的失败。”
尽管没有出现在密尔沃基，民主党全国代表大会仍将从8月17日至20日每晚在黄金时段播出两个小时，前副总统将在8月20日晚上发表讲话，而他在前一天晚上备受期待的副总统人选也将在黄金时段播出。集会将包括录音片段和现场直播。
根据组织者的最新声明，大会发言人仍有望出现在全国各地的虚拟场所。这些卫星位置的具体位置尚未公布。
“这次大会将与历史上任何一次大会都不同。它将接触到前所未有的更多的人，真正成为全美所有美国人的大会，不管你属于哪个政党，也不管你在之前的选举中投了谁的票。2020年民主党全国代表大会的首席执行官乔·索尔莫内塞在一份声明中说:“这次‘非常规’的代表大会将使乔·拜登在11月取得胜利。”
本周早些时候正式支持拜登的威斯康辛州州长托尼·埃维斯(Tony Evers)周三在新闻发布会上发表声明，称这一决定反映了民主党候选人对保护公众健康的承诺。
“对于民选官员来说，以身作则从来没有像现在这样重要——乔就是这样的领导人，我们需要这样的总统。”我知道他将继续留在威斯康辛州，无论是虚拟的还是其他的，我期待着尽我们所能赢得威斯康辛州。”
州长曼德拉·巴恩斯也用一个愤怒的表情回应了这一消息，这反映出许多人对这个在关键摇摆州举行的庆祝大会感到沮丧。
就在7月23日，拜登公开表示，他打算在密尔沃基接受提名，但警告说，围绕大会做出的所有决定都应遵循卫生官员的指导。
“与唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)和共和党人的所作所为形成鲜明对比的是，我们的当务之急将是密尔沃基人民的健康和安全。”任何决定都将受到科学和公共卫生的指导。上个月，拜登在接受密尔沃基一家新闻机构的采访时说:“密尔沃基仍然是我们大会的主持人。”
就在上周，该党官员发布了一份活动日程安排，其中包括佩雷斯的一份声明，称该活动将“锚定”在密尔沃基，这突显出计划的突然性和即时性发生了变化。
尽管民主党人对某种形式的现场活动抱有希望，但拜登经常警告COVID-19可能对集会产生的影响。在宣布将日期改为8月后不久，这位前副总统在美国广播公司“本周”的一次采访中猜测，由于病毒，会议将采取何种形式
“我们得开个大会。我们可能要开一个虚拟会议。我认为我们现在就应该考虑这个问题。”
“让我们再看看它在哪里——从现在到那时我们所做的事情也将决定很多事情。但我的观点是，我认为你只需要遵循科学。”
Biden will no longer travel to DNC to accept Democratic nomination amid pandemic
Former Vice PresidentJoe Bidenand the rest of the planned convention speakers will not travel to Wisconsin for thequadrennial Democratic National Convention, according to a release from its committee Wednesday, citing health concerns with the ongoingcoronaviruspandemic.
"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," the release said.
Biden, who was scheduled to accept the party's nomination in the key battleground state on Aug. 20, will now accept the nomination from Delaware.
"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," the announcement continued.
Less than two weeks out, the sudden changes to the convention, an event that historically takes years to plan and is the capstone of the party's nominating process that typically attracts thousands of supporters and party loyalists, has effectively been reduced to an entirely virtual affair.
"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," Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez said in a statement along with the announcement.
The convention was initially scheduled to take place in mid-July, but was pushed back to August over concerns about the coronavirus outbreak back in April.
Democrats had already significantly scaled back the convention, announcing in late June that officials were planning for a mix of in-person and virtual elements. But over the last two months, as the coronavirus hobbled planning, organizers further pared back the event, urging members of Congress, state delegations and delegates not to travel to Wisconsin. Delegates are also voting entirely by online ballot, which began on Aug. 3 and will run until Aug. 15, two days before the convention kicks off. The results are expected to be announced on Aug. 17, the first night of the event.
A source with knowledge of DNC convention plans in Milwaukee described the news as "definitely a gut punch." The source tells ABC News several officials have been left in the dark since the DNCC begin laying off staff in May.
"They were trying to figure out what they're going to do with the convention, how we're going to do it and what would be done," the source said.
"This is definitely a disappointing, missed opportunity. It's not the DNC's fault, they were doing everything. It's the coronavirus." The source added, "This is a failure of the administration not taking s--t seriously."
Despite the lack of presence in Milwaukee, the Democratic National Convention will still air in primetime for two hours each night from Aug. 17-20, with remarks from the former vice president on the evening of Aug. 20 and his highly anticipated vice presidential pick the night before. The gathering will include both taped segments and live broadcasts.
Convention speakers are still expected to be in virtual locations across the country, according to the newest announcement from organizers. Details have yet to be released on exactly where those satellite locations will be.
"This convention will look different than any previous convention in history. It will reach more people than ever before, and truly be a convention across America for all Americans, regardless of which party you belong to or who you've voted for in previous elections. This 'unconventional' convention will launch Joe Biden to victory in November," Joe Solmonese, CEO of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, said in a statement.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, who officially endorsed Biden earlier this week, issued a statement on Wednesday on the news, arguing that the decision reflects the presumptive Democratic nominee's commitment to the protection of the public health.
"It has never been more important for elected officials to lead by example—that's the kind of leader Joe is, and that's the kind of president we need. I know he will continue to have a presence in Wisconsin, virtually or otherwise, and I look forward to doing everything we can to win Wisconsin," Evers said.
Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes also reacted to the news with a single angry emoji, reflecting the frustration of many over what many believed would be a celebratory convention anchored in a key swing state.
As recently as July 23, Biden publicly said he intended to accept the nomination in Milwaukee, but cautioned that all decisions around the convention should be made in accordance with guidance from health officials.
"In contrast with what Donald Trump and Republicans are doing, our top priority is going to be the health and safety of the people of Milwaukee. Any decision will be guided by science and public health, period. Milwaukee is still the anchor of our convention," Biden said in an interview with a Milwaukee news affiliate last month.
Just last week, party officials released a schedule of events that included a statement from Perez that said the event would be "anchored" in Milwaukee -- underscoring how abruptly and on-the-fly planning has changed.
Despite Democrats holding out hope for an in-person event in some form, Biden has often warned about the impact COVID-19 could have on the gathering. Shortly after the date change to August was announced, the former vice president speculated on what form the convention would take due to the virus during an interview on ABC's "This Week."
"We're going to have to do a convention. We may have to do a virtual convention. I think we should be thinking about that right now," Biden told ABC News' Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos in April.
"Again let's see where it is -- and what we do between now and then is going to dictate a lot of that as well. But my point is that I think you just got to follow the science."
