ASHEBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — The former president is making another stop in North Carolina, and this time he’s coming to the Piedmont Triad.
On Wednesday, Donald Trump will be speaking at the North Carolina Aviation Museum & Hall of Fame in Asheboro. The former president arrived at PTI around 12:45 p.m., with Vance arriving separately.
Trump and Vance will be speaking about national security, according to the campaign.
J.D. Vance
Vance took the stage just before 1 p.m.
“Conventions are usually about nominated people who win elections, but last time I checked, Kamala Harris hasn’t won any elections,” Vance jabbed, knocking the Harris-Walz campaign for attempts to “appeal to rural voters,” and the claim that Governor Tim Walz lied about his military service.
Vance also spoke about the notion that Harris wants to allow non-citizens to vote.
“We do not need a president elected by power brokers,” he said.
Criticizing Harris’s policies on the economy, public safety and crime, Vance said, “The American Dream seems out of reach, the most out of reach that it’s been in a generation.”
He also took shots at Harris’s record with the border, claiming that “criminal illegals” are trafficking children and bringing drugs into the country on Harris’s watch, claiming they’ll be deporting illegal immigrants as soon as they take office.
“When Kamala Harris walks in the room, America’s enemies sense weakness,” Vance said, attributing the Afghanistan withdrawal, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and Chinese aggression in Taiwan to policies enacted by Harris, despite her not being the president during those events.
Donald Trump
“I love North Carolina,” Trump said as he took the stage. “In 76 days we’re going to win this beautiful state.”
Numerous North Carolina sheriffs, along with Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, briefly joined Trump on stage, and he gave a shoutout to Addison McDowell, his endorsed candidate for North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District. Trump told the crowd that he and Robinson will win their races in the fall.
Trump described Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic nominee in the presidential race following Pres. Joe Biden’s decision to step aside, as “the most radical left person to ever run for office,” stating that the Biden administration created huge inflation.
“She’ll destroy our country like she destroyed San Francisco,” he said. “We’re gonna do things that are gonna make America so great so fast.”
Trump accused Biden of being absent in recent days as focus shifted from the former presidential candidate to Harris, referencing photos of Biden spotted at Rehoboth Beach in Delaware with First Lady Jill Biden and his granddaughter earlier this month.
“Where’s Biden? What happened to Biden? Where’s Biden?” he asked. “People don’t want to see you in a bathing suit,” he continued.
Biden’s most recent public appearance was at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week.
Addressing the Russia-Ukraine, Trump said that he would end the conflict before he officially took office and would “restore peace” once elected.
“Mostly I could end it with a phone call,” he said.
Trump also said he would ask any military official involved in the “Afghanistan disaster” to resign “on day one.”
“We’re going to have peace through strength all over the world,” he said.
At one point during the speech, a rallygoer appeared to collapse, and Trump walked over to check on them to make sure they were OK.
Democratic Response
In a news conference prior to the rally, Asheboro City Council Member Bill McCaskill and Randolph County Democratic Party Chair Diane Hubbard spoke against the Trump-Vance ticket.
The speakers said that a second Trump term would benefit the ultra-wealthy and corporations at the expense of the middle class. Citing economists at Moody’s, a company specializing in economic research, they argued that Trump’s policies would increase inflation and costs.
They also spoke out against Project 2025, a conservative presidential action plan proposed by The Heritage Foundation, stating that it would erase thousands of new manufacturing jobs. In a July post on Truth Social, Trump claimed to “know nothing about Project 2025” and have “no idea who is behind it”; many of the writers involved in the plan, however, have ties to the Trump administration and campaign.
“Donald Trump’s presidency was devastating for Asheboro’s economy: our neighbors lost small businesses, farmers struggled, and thousands of manufacturing jobs were lost across North Carolina,” said Asheboro City Council Member Bill McCaskill. “In a second term, Trump will go even further by imposing raising taxes and killing the good-paying jobs that the Biden-Harris administration has created, and slashing funding for our rural hospitals with his Project 2025 agenda. The only way we can ensure an economy that works for our community is by supporting Vice President Kamala Harris in November.”
Randolph County Democratic Party Chair Diane Hubbard said, “A 34-count convicted felon, Donald Trump built his career by ripping off hard-working people just like us in Asheboro and Randolph County. Now, with their Project 2025 agenda, Trump and JD Vance will give handouts to billionaires and the largest corporations in America, and we’ll all be left with the tab: massive tax hikes, skyrocketing inflation, and higher prescription drug prices. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are the only candidates fighting for an economy where every North Carolinian has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead.”
Prior Appearances
Trump’s appearance comes a week after he spoke in Asheville and five days after Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, delivered a speech on her economic plan in Raleigh.
A New York Times/Siena College poll published Saturday shows Harris slightly leading Trump in North Carolina 49% to 47%, a noted gain for Democrats since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson released his campaign’s “safety plan” ahead of Trump’s visit. His campaign says that his plan as governor is to “reject once and for all extremist groups that want to defund the police,” “reinstate the death penalty for those that kill police and corrections officers” and “work with the legislature to pass a bill that requires law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and honor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers.”
Robinson also notes a desire to reject proposals to end cash bail, appoint judges that will “follow the slow” and prioritize law enforcement raises.
He is expected to speak around 2 p.m., with doors opening around 11 a.m.
