But the party's big events including Trump's primetime nomination speech, which the party decided to move to Jacksonville only last month, will move online, the president suggested.
"We're going to do some other things with tele-rallies and online the week that we're discussing, which would be really good. I think we're going to do it well," Trump said, vowing he would still deliver a speech "in a different form."
The party selected Jacksonville to host its major speeches after Trump and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, butted heads over Coopers insistence that public health precautions like social distancing be enforced at any RNC held in Charlotte as originally planned.
At the time, Florida appeared to have escaped the kind of major coronavirus outbreaks seen in the northeast, even as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a close Trump ally, took most of his cues on closing and reopening the state from Trump over the objections of public health experts.
But as Florida's outbreak has worsened, becoming one of the hardest-hit states in the country over the past few weeks, there have been signs the convention wouldn't be the blowout event that Trump envisioned.
Late last month, Jacksonville adopted a mask mandate requiring face coverings to be worn indoors and in public where social distancing was not possible. Last week, amid reports that the Republican National Committee was looking to move its events outdoors, the committee announced that attendance would be restricted to delegates only for the first three nights.
The RNC's chairwoman,Ronna McDaniel, said that for the final night of the convention, when Trump was scheduled to deliver his speech, attendance would be expanded to allow delegates, a guest of their choosing and alternate delegates.
Then on Monday, Jacksonville's sheriff sounded the alarm on security preparations, telling POLITICO that he wouldn't be able to provide security for the convention because of a lack of clear plans, adequate funding and enough law enforcement officers.
Still, Republicans insisted the event would be safe, and as recently as Tuesday the Trump campaign's communications director was expressing confidence that the convention "will be a great ... series of events over the course of four days and it will be safe."
Jacksonville's mayor, Lenny Curry, and Sheriff Mike Williams reacted to the cancellation on Thursday with a clear sigh of relief.
"We appreciate President Donald Trump considering our public health and safety concerns in making this incredibly difficult decision. As always, in Jacksonville public safety is our number one priority," they said in a joint statement, asserting that by canceling the convention he had "once again reaffirmed his commitment to the safety of Jacksonville Florida and the people of the United States of America."
Trump explained that he made the decision to cancel the Jacksonville portion of the convention came following a meeting with his political team earlier Thursday.
"It's a place I love. And I love that state. The drawings look absolutely beautiful. I never thought we could have something look so good, so fast, with everything going on. And everything was going well," he said. "But I looked at my team and I said, the timing for this event is not right, it's just not right with what's happened recently, the flareup in Florida, to have a big convention it's not the right time."
Trump added later that "I care deeply about the people of Florida and everywhere else, frankly, in this country and even in the world who would be coming into the state and I don't want to do anything to upset it."
Florida set a nationwide record for new daily cases several weeks ago when it reported more than 15,000 new infections in a day. On Thursday, the state's reported total of new cases still topped 10,000 but recorded a record-high 173 deaths.
Asked whether his decision to cancel the convention stemmed from concerns he wouldn't be able to keep attendees safe, Trump demurred.
"I just felt it was wrong ... to have people going to what turned out to be a hot spot," he said, adding quickly that "when we chose it, was not at all hot - it was free."
But "all of a sudden it happened quickly," Trump continued, predicting that Florida would "be doing very well very shortly."
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