by As ever since he was shot in the head in July, former president Donald Trump spoke behind a glass barrier that shielded him from another gunman.
But Trump approached Gastonia, North Carolina as a way to create another protective barrier: a firewall to keep out Kamala Harris who is rising in the Tar Heel State.
The crowd was as rowdy and rowdy as any Trump rally in the nine years since it began. He ended the weekend knowing that if he won, this would be Trump’s final campaign week.
Still, a sense of anxiety pervaded the rally. It looks like the final weekend of the campaign is about to show strength. It should be about campaigning in states to play offense when certain states are locked. North Carolina was the only swing state in 2020 that broke for him.
One of his first stops after his second indictment last year was the state GOP convention, a show of strength that showed he would defeat challengers Ron DeSantis and former vice president Mike Pence.
He made the chairman of that state party, Michael Whatley, co-chairman of the RNC. His campaign sent his running mate JD Vance to North Carolina several times.
“We win this state. We’re going to win the whole ball game,” Trump said at the airport, to applause.
Some of Trump’s supporters were dressed in garbage bags and trash cans, a reference to being angry with President Joe Biden for calling them “trash.” The White House claimed that Biden was referring specifically to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.”
The poll shows Harris and Trump about even. In addition, Harris is making a last-minute push by visiting Charlotte later Saturday evening at the nearby PNC Music Pavilion. After a short stop in Virginia, Trump will head to Greensboro. On Sunday, he will be campaigning in Kinston and on Monday, he will hold a rally in Raleigh.
But at the Gastonia Municipal Airport, there was disbelief that the election in North Carolina, or nationally, could be close. Two volunteers talking about how surprised they were at how close it was, talking about how some states were purple.
“I can’t believe it’s close,” said Donna Speed of Gastonia The Independent, adding that she thinks Trump would win North Carolina.
“I don’t think the polls are doing it justice,” said Donna’s husband, James Speed, claiming that polls have just indicated their bias as left-wing or right-wing.
Indeed, a sense of disbelief seemed to permeate the entire crowd. Before taking the stage, Representative Dan Bishop of North Carolina bragged about Republican prospects.
“In three days, I will be elected as the first Republican elected Attorney General of North Carolina in 128 years,” Bishop said. But the Bishop poll shows Democratic candidate and fellow congressman Jeff Jackson trailing.
At the same time, the Bishop emphasized one advantage that Republicans have against their opponents.
“Republicans are leading early voting for the first time ever,” he said. “But here’s the best news of all, there are plenty of Republicans who haven’t voted yet.”
But just before he took the stage, Bishop spoke to a supporter about how Mark Robinson, the embattled Republican nominee for governor, would have a tough time. It was a tacit acknowledgment that Republicans are unlikely to win back the government even if Trump picks the state.
As the crowd awaited Trump’s arrival, the former president seemed eager to portray himself as the babyface (or good guy) of wrestling, playing bits of him shaving the head of former WWE executive Vince McMahon during Wrestlemania. McMahon’s wife Linda worked in the Trump administration.
After popular hits including “Brown-Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison and Guns N’ Roses, the rally even played the entrance music of The Undertaker, the retired WWE legend who Trump recently appeared on his podcast.
When Trump finally took the stage, he bragged about the size of the crowd, saying about 20,000 people attended the rally.
“We were just going to stop a small group of people quickly,” he told the crowd. “And this is not a small group.”
But a few minutes into Trump’s speech, the Speeds disappeared. In fact, plenty of people said they were leaving because they were tired of standing or wanted to beat the traffic.
Karen Pratt said she crossed the border from Spartanburg, South Carolina. She had first gone to see Trump in South Carolina back in 2015 when he first ran.
“We got here early, so we’ve been standing for quite a while,” said Pratt, who wore socks with Trump’s likeness. The Independent.
Trump still has the support of the dead though and many stayed. Similarly, many houses in the neighborhood had giant Trump-Vance banners.
What remains to be seen is whether all those people could help Trump Force One get off the ground in the state where the Wright Brothers flew their first plane.
