NORTH CAROLINA -- The Republican Party formally nominated President Donald Trump for a second term in the White House Monday, one of the first acts of a GOP convention that has been dramatically scaled down to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Trump has sought to minimize the toll of the pandemic, but its impact was evident as proceedings began in Charlotte. Instead of the thousands of people who were expected to converge on this city for a week-long extravaganza, just 336 delegates participated in a roll-call vote from a Charlotte Convention Center ballroom.

President Donald Trump is accusing Democrats of using voters’ concerns about COVID-19 to steal the upcoming presidential election.

Trump told delegates at the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Monday that the only way Democrats can win is “if this is a rigged election.”

Until he won, Trump also warned that the 2016 election was going to be rigged.

He says Americans know how to keep themselves safe from the coronavirus and can go to the polls, eliminating the need to mail in their ballots. He said, without providing evidence, that that creates fraud.

Trump says other votes will be “harvested” by people going door-to-door to collect ballots that voters have not submitted. In addition, he says some states are not verifying signatures on ballots. He did not provide evidence for those claims.

President Donald Trump is also championing the stock market, telling delegates at the Republican National Convention that if he’s not reelected, the country will go in a “horrible direction.”

He said Monday that the upcoming presidential election is the most important in the history of the United States. He says, “Our country can go in a horrible direction or in an even greater direction."

He says the U.S. economy was humming along at high levels before the coronavirus pandemic. Trump condemned governors who are continuing to keep their states shut down to stem the spread of the virus.

It was a jab at his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, who has said that further shutdowns are needed to battle the virus.

Earlier, the convention renominated Vice President Mike Pence, and he thanked the delegates in person.

Vice President Mike Pence says reelecting President Donald Trump means four more years of support for troops and law enforcement and an economic rebound after the coronavirus.

Later Monday, the White House and the president are hoping to highlight the U.S. Department of Agriculture's “Farmer to Families” program.