Former President Donald Trump held a “Get Out The Vote Rally” in Greensboro Saturday afternoon ahead of Super Tuesday.
Thousands of supporters filled the Greensboro Coliseum Complex to hear the presidential candidate speak about his campaign priorities. Trump’s address focused primarily on securing the U.S. border with Mexico to prevent “migrant crime,” vehemently criticizing President Joseph Biden’s policies during his first term and preventing what he called a “rigged election” in 2020 from recurring in 2024.
“The central question in this election is whether the armies that Joe Biden has smuggled across our border will be allowed to stay or whether they will be told to get the hell out of here and go back home,” Trump said. “We will begin the largest domestic deportation operation in American history because we have no choice.”
Trump also touted the accomplishments of his presidency, namely U.S. relations with China, rebuilding the military and pro-drilling energy policies.
North Carolina is one of 15 states voting in the Republican primary March 5. Tuesday will be critical for the 2024 presidential election, as Trump tries to strengthen his grip on the GOP nomination over Nikki Haley, the former United Nations ambassador and governor of South Carolina.
“From Asheville to Raleigh, from Wilmington to Winston-Salem, from Greenville to Greensboro, this state was forged by some of the toughest men and some of the strongest women ever to walk the face of the Earth,” Trump said.
Trump won Saturday’s Republican caucuses in Missouri, and opinion polls predict that the former president will take the lead in Idaho’s caucuses Saturday evening. The District of Columbia will hold its primary election on Sunday, followed by the 15 states participating in Super Tuesday.
Haley also visited North Carolina on Saturday, holding a rally in Raleigh to garner last-minute support. While Haley has been trailing behind Trump in recent polls and notably lost the Feb. 24 primary in her home state of South Carolina, she has promised to remain in the race through Super Tuesday.
Trump is facing challenges from 36 states, including North Carolina, on whether he is eligible to be on the primary ballot. The state supreme courts of Illinois, Colorado and Maine have already removed him from the ballot, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that Trump should remain on Colorado's primary ballot in a unanimous decision.
The former president is also facing 91 felony counts in four states, which include allegations that he attempted to undermine the results of the 2020 elections, retained classified documents after leaving office and falsified business records to pay off porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.
“Every one of these 91 counts — they’re not 91 counts, they’re not legit,” Trump said. “We are a third-world nation now that has weaponized its law enforcement against opposing political parties like never before.”
“Never forget our enemies want to take away my freedom because I will never let them take away your freedom,” Trump said. “In the end, they’re not after me, they’re after you — I just happen to be standing in the way.”
Trump continued to repeat unverified claims of election fraud from the 2020 presidential election, even after extensive litigation found little evidence of these assertions. He asserted that the “radical left Democrats” rigged the 2020 presidential election, and that he would not allow them to rig the 2024 election.
Before taking the stage at 2 p.m., Trump was preceded by a number of speakers from various positions within the Republican Party who gave endorsement remarks.
“America cannot take four more years of democratic control,” said Michael Whatley, chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party and future chairman of the Republican National Committee. “America needs Republicans to flip the Senate, to expand their majority in the House and to take back the White House.”
Many speakers emphasized their dissatisfaction with the first term of the Biden administration, highlighting economic and foreign policy as major areas of concern.
“Sadly, friends, under Joe Biden, we’re no longer the strong nation that we used to be… Strong nations have strong borders,” U.S. Senator Ted Budd said. “Strong nations, they aren’t $34 trillion in debt. Strong nations, they don’t put other countries’ interests before their own, and strong nations, they don’t allow their leader to remain in office after four years of failure.”
“I didn’t know as much about [Budd] as I should have, and I met him and I liked him, and he’s been an unbelievable senator,” Trump said.
Lieutenant Gov. Mark Robinson, who is running as the Republican Party’s nominee for North Carolina governor, also voiced his support for Trump.
“We have a wide open border, we’ve got inflation that is out of control. War is looming on the horizon, and right now, we have a president that I don’t even believe knows where he is right now,” Robinson said. “Never before has America had an answer like we have in Donald J. Trump.”
“[Robinson] has been an unbelievable lieutenant governor,” Trump said. “This is Martin Luther King on steroids … you’re gonna be the next governor of North Carolina.”
Additional remarks were given by Virginia Foxx, U.S. representative for NC’s 5th district; Tim Moore, speaker of the NC House of Representatives; Dan Bishop, U.S. representative for NC’s 8th district; and Addison McDowell, a Trump-endorsed candidate for Congress representing NC’s 6th district.
Doors opened for the event at 11 a.m., but supporters began lining up far in advance on Saturday morning. The Right Side Broadcasting Network interviewed voters who lined up outside the Coliseum before Trump’s speech, and their top priorities including securing the border, providing opportunities for small business owners, combating inflation, generally supporting the middle class and protecting 2nd Amendment rights.
There are changes to the N.C. voting laws this cycle, as photo IDs are now required for both in-person voting and copies need to be provided on mail-in ballots. The three-day grace period for mail-in ballots postmarked on or before election day has also been eliminated.
“With your help, we will win big on Super Tuesday, and this November, North Carolina is going to tell crooked Joe Biden ‘Joe, you’re fired. Get out of here,’” Trump said.
Editor's Note: This story was updated Tuesday morning to include the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to keep Trump on Colorado's primary ballot.
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Zoe Kolenovsky is a Trinity junior and news editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.
Ranjan Jindal is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.