VIDEO: Roy Cooper Kicks Off General Election With Secret Trip To Tampa

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Republican Governors Association (RGA) today released footage captured by an RGA tracker of North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper attending a fundraiser in Tampa, Florida Thursday morning despite releasing a schedule that implied he was conducting government business in North Carolina all day.

The event, billed as “Breakfast with Governor Roy Cooper” on Democratic fundraising website ActBlue, was held at the swanky Oxford Exchange restaurant and private club in Tampa with ticket prices listed beginning at $500 per person. The restaurant features a Champagne Bar with prices up to $1,225 per bottle and a members-only club that touts itself as reminiscent of “the historic clubs and libraries of London.”

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/EiZA3pU9By4

As Cooper entered the venue, the RGA tracker asked if he’s “hiding this trip from the people of North Carolina.” Cooper did not respond and an aide positioned herself in front of the camera to block the view of the governor.

A public schedule released to the media by the governor’s office stated, “Throughout the day, Gov. Cooper will be holding meetings and conducting other business” with no mention that the governor’s “business” included a political fundraiser several states away.

Cooper has previously come under fire for hiding out-of-state political trips to New York and San Francisco and refusing to release travel records to members of the media. One media outlet, WBTV, has filed a lawsuit to obtain the records. Cooper has had success courting out-of-state liberal megadonors, recently accepting a maximum donation from left-wing billionaire activist George Soros.

“Governor Cooper is so desperate to keep his out-of-state political activities a secret from the people of North Carolina that he is once again resorting to deceptive and dishonest tactics to cover his tracks,” said RGA Communications Director Amelia Chassé Alcivar. “The governor’s repeated attempts to conceal where he is and what he is doing beg the question – what is Roy Cooper hiding? North Carolina voters deserve to know.”