Trump campaigns for NC GOP candidates, says no president has been treated worse

Former President Donald Trump returned to North Carolina on Friday to campaign for Republican candidates who remain locked in competitive, high-stakes races just over six weeks out from the midterm election.

Trump held his latest “Save America” rally in Wilmington, hosting more than 1,000 enthusiastic supporters at Wilmington International Airport. A number of Republican officials, lawmakers and candidates addressed the crowd before Trump took to the stage, including U.S. Senate candidate Ted Budd, U.S. House candidate Bo Hines, and N.C. Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.

In between criticizing the Biden administration for its handling of the economy and the southern border, and praising Budd, Hines and others to the crowd, Trump spoke at length about the multiple investigations he, his family, and his business have been the subjects of, particularly in recent months.

Tying together the two impeachment inquiries into his conduct while in office, the FBI’s raid of his Mar-a-Lago home in southern Florida over the improper storage of classified documents, and most recently, a civil lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general alleging “staggering” fraud by the former president and his adult children, Trump accused investigators in each situation of targeting him due to political motivations.

“The only thing these deranged leftists care about, the only thing they talk about, is trying to destroy your favorite president, me, have you ever heard of me? And our great patriotic movement,” Trump said to his supporters at the beginning of his remarks. “There’s never been a president that’s gone through the crap that I’m going through, left and right.”

Over the course of his speech, Trump repeatedly brought up his false claim that he won the 2020 election, and teased at times another run for president in 2024.

Trump encourages supporters to vote in November

A recurring theme for Trump and several of the other speakers during Friday’s rally was the importance of Republicans winning enough seats in both the House and Senate to take back control of Congress and block the Biden administration from enacting any more key pieces of legislation over the next two years.

Trump praised Budd as someone who would stand for law and order. As the owner of his own gun store and shooting range, Budd would also be a staunch defender of Second Amendment rights, Trump said.

Joining Trump on stage for a moment, Budd said he was glad to welcome Trump back to North Carolina, with the former president’s last visit to the state being a rally in the Johnston County town of Selma in April, before the Republican primary. Budd also recalled how Trump told him he endorsed him because Budd wouldn’t back down.

Trump frequently mentioned illegal immigration at the southern border, which recently peaked with more than 2 million arrests by authorities over the last 11 months — the highest number of arrests recorded in that time frame, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Trump attacks Roy Cooper and Cheri Beasley

After mentioning a few instances of immigrants in the country without authorization committing violent crimes, Trump took aim at N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat who has clashed with the GOP-controlled legislature over a bill that would’ve required sheriffs to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Unfortunately, your radical Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper has vetoed legislation requiring authorities to turn over illegal aliens to ICE,” Trump said as the crowd booed. “We love ICE, those are tough guys.”

Turning his attention to Budd’s opponent, Cheri Beasley, a Democrat who previously served as chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court, Trump called Beasley a “radical left Democrat,” and accused her of wanting to “defund the police.”

Beasley has distanced herself from the idea, saying during an August press conference that she knew the importance of funding police departments to help with “recruitment, retention, training, mental health and addressing the opioid crisis,” The Associated Press reported.

Responding to Trump on Friday night, Beasley tweeted: “It’s clear Trump and his allies will spend and say whatever it takes to defeat us, hold North Carolina’s Senate seat, and elect their extremist candidate Ted Budd.”

Trump supporters describe immigration as top issue

Trump’s supporters began lining up to enter the venue several hours before he was scheduled to speak, with some people arriving at the airport’s Aero Center in the morning.

Gil Gouge, 74, said he was attending his first Trump rally and was concerned about illegal immigration, and the smuggling of illicit fentanyl across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Gouge said he was happy to support Budd, saying that Budd was “better than what we’ve got.” He was more enthusiastic about Robinson, who he said was “the greatest” since he “brings people together no matter their color.”

Sharon Falcone, 68, who stood next to Gouge while they waited for Trump to appear, said she also supported Budd, saying: “I trust him if Trump trusts him.”

Alexandria Raymond, 26, was joined at the rally by her mother, Andi, 60, who drove from Charlotte to see Trump. The mother and daughter said they cared about illegal immigration, and wanted to see the border wall — which was a flagship piece of Trump’s campaign platform — completed.

They also said they wanted to see more protections for police officers. “We need more of them, not less,” Andi Raymond said.

For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at https://campsite.bio/underthedome or wherever you get your podcasts.