GOP chairwoman McDaniel won't commit to having press at Charlotte convention: 'Ask Governor Cooper'

The Republican National Committee (RNC) is working on a plan to include press at the upcoming GOP convention in Charlotte later this month, but the ultimate decision whether or not to allow reporters on-site will ultimately be up to Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told "Bill Hemmer Reports" Monday.

Fox News White House correspondent John Roberts asked McDaniel whether he and his colleagues would be granted access, citing reports suggesting that the scaled-down convention would be open to delegates only.

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"We are so excited to nominate our president, renominate him, and we want the whole world to see it," McDaniel responded. "A lot of this has been false reporting. We are dealing with overly restrictive guidelines being put forward by Governor Cooper in North Carolina where very few people are allowed inside rooms. We have been grappling with how do we get the delegates in the room, let alone the press.

"That’s why we are working it out. Of course, we are going to make sure that this is broadcast to the world because we are so excited not only to renominate our president but to reelect him."

The president and Republican officials were angered after Cooper said earlier this year that he wasn’t prepared to guarantee the RNC a full-fledged convention with an arena packed full of party officials, delegates and activists as desired by Trump due to the coronavirus pandemic.

After initially moving the convention to Jacksonville, Fla., Trump recently announced that he planned to cancel that part of the event due to the Sunshine State's rising COVID-19 numbers, and said a much smaller convention, consisting of formal business, would take place in Charlotte.

Delegates will meet to nominate Trump for the Republican ticket and he will deliver an address there to accept the nomination. His speech will be streamed online.

When Roberts asked again whether broader media coverage would be permitted, McDaniel answered, "you have to ask Governor Cooper that.

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"The restrictions on us are part of the reason why we had to leave North Carolina," she explained. "He wouldn’t work with us on anything. It’s been a real challenge to manage getting 336 delegates into a room. We have to get the delegates in because we have to nominate our president. We want the press there, but it’s not an RNC decision. It's a Governor Cooper of North Carolina decision that is limiting how many people we can have in a room."

Fox News' Gregg Re contributed to this report.