RALEIGH—In a last effort to charm voters of North Carolina, a crucial battleground state, Republican nominee Donald Trump campaigned in Raleigh for an energetic crowd.
Speaking to the almost full J.S. Dorton Arena at the Raleigh fairgrounds, Trump was noticeably cautious and mostly stuck to the highlights of his platform. He continued his attack on rival Hillary Clinton and framed his campaign as an attempt by the people to change a “failed political establishment.”
“Tomorrow is going to be a very historic day, I think it’s going to be Brexit plus plus plus,” Trump said. “I want the entire corrupt Washington establishment to hear the words... ‘drain the swamp.’”
Trump spent most of his speech discussing jobs and the national economy, citing the North American Free Trade Agreement and China’s entry into the World Trade Organization as major causes of America’s economic decline. He vowed to renegotiate NAFTA and stand up to China, with the ultimate goal of reversing the “greatest job theft in the history of the world.” He also discussed his plan to impose a 35 percent tax on outsourcing companies and to cut taxes on the middle class.
Trump’s other major policy concern was immigration, and he promised to suspend all intake of Syrian refugees and to eliminate safe havens for illegal immigrants. Taking in refugees will result in “generations of terrorism and extremism and radicalism,” Trump claimed. His proposal for border security was followed by the the crowd’s familiar chant of “build that wall.”
In his speech, Trump criticized Clinton, focusing on the “33,000 emails [she deleted] after receiving a congressional subpoena,” despite the announcement yesterday by FBI director James Comey in which he stood by the earlier decision not to prosecute Clinton.
“Hillary Clinton is the most corrupt person ever to seek the office of the presidency of the United States,” Trump said. “She is being protected by a totally rigged system... She shouldn’t be allowed to run.”
Referring to Jay-Z using vulgarities and racial epithets in his lyrics at a Clinton concert, Trump also lamented the media’s double standards regarding appropriate behavior. He called the words “disgusting” and said he “won’t use and won’t even address” them.
Trump only made brief mention of state-level politics in North Carolina, calling Governor Pat McCrory a “nice guy in a tough fight.” His other direct appeal to the state was his commitment to increasing the number of aircraft at the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, battalions at Fort Bragg and new technologies in the Research Triangle.
According to FiveThirtyEight's election prediction, Trump has a 30 percent chance of winning the presidency.
Jessica Stoehrer—an attendee who carried a “Women for Trump” sign, the most common sign at the rally—voiced her full support for Trump.
“He’s a gentlemen, you can see his family, how he approaches women,” she said. “I don’t believe anything the media says, and the man is just a wonderful person.”
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