While Trump is not subject to the Hatch Act, his staff is, inevitably setting them up for possibly breaking the law.
Former Vice President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that he would not be going to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, later this month to deliver his acceptance speech for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. Before the coronavirus pandemic reached the United States earlier this year, it was assumed that the Democratic nominee would accept the nomination in person as was customary. Instead, Biden will be delivering his acceptance speech from his home state of Delaware, and likely not in the presence of a crowd given the concerns around the rise in COVID-19 infections in the U. S. Other speakers slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention will also not be making the trip to Milwaukee. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, who has had his own set of troubles nailing down a place to accept the nomination for president on the Republican ticket, made a controversial statement Wednesday morning on “Fox & Friends” that he may just use the White House itself to give his acceptance speech. “It’s easy and I think it’s a beautiful setting,” Trump explained. “And we are thinking about that. It’s certainly one of the alternatives. It’s the easiest alternative. I think it’s a beautiful alternative.” The idea of using the White House, a government-funded place of official business for the chief executive, for a political purpose would be highly controversial, if not illegal. Under the Hatch Act, no federal employee may use government resources to promote political causes or purposes.
