Key figures in the 2024 presidential race campaigned in North Carolina this week in hopes of securing the state’s 16 electoral votes.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, campaigned in the Charlotte area on Wednesday and Monday, respectively, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff campaigned in Wilmington Wednesday.
New Hanover County, which includes the city of Wilmington, has a history of consistently voting for Republican presidential candidates, though it flipped blue during the Trump era. In 2020, a Democratic presidential candidate carried the county for the first time since at least 2004, the earliest year for which the North Carolina State Board of Elections reports presidential election result data.
Trump’s rally, held in the Mosack Group warehouse in Mint Hill, lasted about an hour. He avoided speaking about the recent scandal surrounding N.C. Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who also went unmentioned in Trump’s Wilmington rally on Saturday.
Robinson faced controversy last week after a CNN report connected the Republican gubernatorial nominee to an account on a pornographic website that made a series of inflammatory and sexually graphic remarks. Since then, Robinson has reportedly experienced pressure from his party to drop out of the race.
Top staff on Robinson’s campaign expressed their intention to resign Oct. 1, including Brian LiVecchi, chief of staff and general counsel, Policy Director Jonathan Harris, Director of Communications John Wesley Waugh and Director of Government Affairs Nathan Lewis.
Robinson reportedly hired political strategist Matt Hurley as his new campaign manager.
During his rally, Trump addressed a wide array of issues, pledging to resolve problems related to international conflict, immigration and the economy.
He claimed that he would prevent “World War III” and that neither the Russia-Ukraine war nor the Israel-Hamas war would have happened if he were in office.
He claimed that the two recent assassination attempts towards him “possibly” involved Iran. Speaking about countries that have threatened the United States, Trump noted that “you have to let them know … that [if] you do any attacks on former presidents or candidates for president, your country gets blown to smithereens.”
Iran has rejected accusations that it was involved in the July 13 shooting at a Trump campaign rally, and there is no evidence of Iran’s involvement in either assassination attempt.
“I want to thank the Democrats because they just increased funding for the Secret Service who work very hard,” Trump said. “… Every single Republican [and] every single Democrat present voted in favor.”
Trump also criticized Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris for her voting record on issues related to the economy and immigration.
“No vice president in history has done more damage to the United States economy than Kamala Harris,” he said.
Trump criticized Harris for changing her position on fracking. Harris advocated for a ban on fracking when she began her first presidential campaign in 2019 but said in an August CNN interview that she would not ban the practice if elected.
JD Vance spoke at Central Piedmont Community College, Freedom House Church and Billy Graham Library in Charlotte during his Monday appearance in the battleground state.
Reporters questioned Vance about Robinson’s scandal and the lieutenant governor’s absence from the rally.
“It’s up to Mark Robinson to make his case to the people of North Carolina that those weren’t his statements, and I’m going to let him make that case,” Vance responded.
In his speeches, Vance discussed inflation, which he attributed to the Biden-Harris administration, and the impact of undocumented immigration. He claimed that if elected, he would increase oil production and pass drug trafficking regulations.
Vance also spoke about religious freedom, warning of persecution against Christians that can happen “anywhere.”
“I believe the most persecuted faith in the world today is the Christian faith,” he said. “… I think that we’re living through a time where we have the biggest opponents of religious liberty and people of faith running for office that we have seen anywhere in my life.”
Emhoff campaigned at a coffee shop in Wilmington Wednesday afternoon, expressing support for the Harris campaign.
Emhoff spoke about his wife’s economic policies, outlining her goals to lower the cost of everyday goods and to invest in entrepreneurship, among other plans.
In particular, he shared Harris' plans to provide $25,000 in down payment assistance to first-time buyers of homes, a $6,000 credit for parents of infants less than a year old and a $50,000 tax credit for small businesses to cover startup costs.
Emhoff also returned criticism towards Trump for his views on immigration and abortion, adding that Trump had not revoked his endorsement for Robinson following the CNN report.
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Winston Qian is a Pratt sophomore and health/science editor for the news department.