Senate candidate Michael Whatley at a Gastonia, North Carolina, rally on Wednesday, launching sharp attacks on Democratic opponent Roy Cooper regarding crime and the economy as the state hosts one of the nation’s midterm races.
A Law-and-Order Rally in Gaston County
President Donald Trump traveled to the Gastonia Municipal Airport on Wednesday, September 16, for his third visit to North Carolina since December in support of Michael Whatley’s Senate campaign. Speaking at an airport rally, Trump leaned heavily into law-and-order rhetoric, framing the contest as a critical choice for voters.
One of the speakers who preceded Trump was Todd Blanche, the U.S. attorney general. It’s a break from tradition for the attorney general to appear at partisan political rallies, but Trump has eroded some of the post-Watergate norms that sought to insulate the nation’s top law enforcement officer from politics.
The golden age of America is upon us, but you must get out and vote and vote for Michael Whatley,
President Donald Trump said.
The event drew significant traffic delays and road closures across Gaston County, with police urging drivers to plan for afternoon and evening delays and avoid the area entirely if possible. Officials released a timeline for road closures, noting that soft road closures began at 10 a.m. while full shutdowns took effect at 5:30 p.m. and continued through the evening as needed. Officers said the area around Union Road and Gaston Day School Road saw the heaviest impacts, with primary areas affected including south of I-85, east of U.S. 321, and west of South New Hope Road, alongside detours near Union Road, Robinson Road, Bud Wilson Road, and Gaston Day Road.
Targeting Roy Cooper and the Democratic Record on Crime
Trump used visual aids to draw visceral reactions aimed at stoking antipathy to the Democratic candidate, former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. At one point, an oversize video screen displayed mug shots of unnamed criminal suspects. The Republican running against Cooper, Michael Whatley, will make the streets safer, Trump said.
You can either vote for Roy Cooper to set loose criminals who rape and murder your children and your population, or you can vote for Michael Whatley to protect and defend your children and your population, Trump said
The trip marked Trump’s first campaign rally since the midterm convention in Dallas, where Whatley also delivered remarks. The Dallas event was great because it was an opportunity to use that stage to speak to all the families and communities across North Carolina — that's what we're going to do here today with the president in town,
said Whatley during an interview Wednesday afternoon.
Before Trump’s speech, the President spoke exclusively with ABC 11, expressing his appreciation for Whatley’s tenure as Chair of the RNC. “(Whatley’s) a good man. He’s a great, great person. So good, in fact, that when I won North Carolina the second time, the third time — I won all the times, including three primaries, so it’s 6-0, but Michael Whatley was there, and I said, if I get in, if I do this again, we’re going to use Michael Whatley; he’s going to be the Chairman of the party. I made him Chairman of the party, and I told my daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who’s really popular here by the way, they did a phenomenal job. And Lara will tell you Michael Whatley is brilliant. He’s tough, he’s smart. He won’t stand for crime,” said Trump.
Whatley’s campaign came under fire last week after a pastor, who is a convicted sex offender, delivered an opening prayer at a campaign rally that Whatley appeared at. Whatley’s campaign said the candidate did not know the pastor who delivered the prayer, nor was the event planned by the campaign.
The Stakes in North Carolina’s Senate Race
The North Carolina seat is now held by Republican Thom Tillis, a Trump critic who is retiring. Democrats must net four seats in the November elections to capture the Senate majority. Cooper was leading Whatley by 11 percentage points in the latest Elon University poll of likely voters, making North Carolina ripe for a potential Democratic pickup.
Whatley is tying his candidacy tightly to Trump. Trump won North Carolina in all three of his presidential campaigns, even as Cooper won the governorship in 2016 and 2020; Whatley needs Trump to energize the MAGA base.
Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chairman, lacks the name recognition in the state that Cooper enjoys as a former two-term governor. He also faces a fundraising disadvantage. Cooper’s campaign had nearly $21 million to spend as of June 30, while Whatley’s campaign had $3.5 million, according to the most recent campaign finance reports.
In a social media post, Whatley said he is “thrilled” to welcome Trump to Gastonia, adding, President Trump needs an ally in the Senate and North Carolina needs a fighter. That’s why we will win on November 3!
Addressing the Economy and Foreign Policy
The president defended his economic leadership, acknowledging that gas prices are a little higher
because of his war in Iran but argued that it's a very inexpensive price to pay for what we've done.
Stopping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, he said, would be worth the cost even if it was a lot more.
In this election, I'm asking you to pretend I'm on the ballot just one more time,
Trump said.
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