Republican officials and Trump campaign aides, some of whom have been working since last year to plan the party’s convention festivities, said the disappointing event last weekend imparted a critical lesson as they look ahead to Jacksonville, where Trump will deliver his acceptance speech as the GOP’s presidential nominee in late August: Learn to manage expectations and plan for trouble.

“The last thing we want to do is over-promise and under-deliver,” said an adviser to the Trump campaign. “Obviously we wish Tulsa had not turned out the way it did, but it was a useful reminder of what we hope to avoid next time.”…

Four officials involved with the planning said they feel additional pressure to ensure the president is pleased with the format of the convention, and with its turnout, after witnessing his displeasure with the partially empty arena in Tulsa.

What’s more, a recent surge of Covid-19 cases in Florida is threatening to complicate the onerous planning process organizers are already facing after moving most convention programming — including Trump’s primetime renomination speech — from Charlotte to Northeast Florida due to coronavirus restrictions on large social gatherings in North Carolina. Duval County, where Jacksonville is located, recently saw its highest one-day increase in coronavirus cases since the global pandemic began.