Most Read

Top stories

Trump Said He May Accept the Nomination at Gettysburg and the Jokes Practically Wrote Themselves

Trump Said He May Accept the Nomination at Gettysburg and the Jokes Practically Wrote Themselves
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

The GOP's plans for its national convention have been chaotic to say the least.

Originally slated for Charlotte, North Carolina, President Donald Trump moved most in-person events—including his speech officially accepting the Republican presidential nomination—to Jacksonville, Florida after local leaders in North Carolina wouldn't scale back safety measures in the face of the pandemic.

By the end of July, the President canceled in-person events in Jacksonville as well, opting instead for a digital presentation.

That left the question of where Trump would deliver his acceptance speech, and according to a Monday tweet, the President has narrowed it down to two options: the White House lawn or Gettysburg.

Rumors had already been churning that the President was eyeing the White House lawn for the speech. Ethics experts were flummoxed at how members of Trump's staff would avoid violating the Hatch Act, which forbids Executive Branch employees from using their positions in government to campaign.

Notably, the President and Vice President are excepted from the Hatch Act.

Using Gettysburg—the battlefield where over three thousand soldiers lost their lives in the Civil War—also raised eyebrows, since the site is still federal grounds.

Some found Gettysburg to be an interesting choice for all the wrong reasons.







The Battle of Gettysburg was one of the Confederacy's most damning defeats. Trump has been a vocal opponent of calls to remove statues and memorials glorifying the Confederacy and slavery.

The site is also where Abraham Lincoln gave his famed Gettysburg Address. Trump has said that he's arguably done even more for Black Americans than Lincoln himself, who was a key figure in abolishing slavery.

People cringed to imagine what Trump's so-called Gettysburg Address would entail.



The last time Trump delivered a speech in Gettysburg was a little more than a week before the 2016 election, where he infamously defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.