ASHEBORO — Former President Donald Trump touted his national security record in an appearance here Wednesday and accused Democratic opponent Kamala Harris of weakening America's standing in the world through her role in the Biden administration. Donald Trump points at someone in the crowd as he leaves the stage after his campaign event at the North Carolina Aviation Museum in Asheboro on Wednesday. Trump and his Republican running mate U.
S. Sen J.D.
Vance spoke to an enthusiastic crowd of several thousand at the North Carolina Aviation Museum. An excited supporter at the Trump campaign event. Victor Moon break dances in front of a vendor's display that was selling Trump campaign merchandise at the rally in Asheboro.
Trump focused much of his criticism on the administration's handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 in which 13 service members died. He said Harris bore responsibility through her role as a key advisor to Biden. He accused Harris of being a radical, dubbing her "Comrade Kamala.
" The withdrawal from Afghanistan, Trump said, weakened America, emboldened its adversaries and contributed to Russian President Putin's decision to invade Ukraine. People are also reading..
. He contrasted his own approach, which he said made the world and America safer. "Everybody said, 'Oh, he's going to start wars with his attitude,'" Trump said, referring to criticism of him when he was president.
"No, my attitude kept us out of wars. I stopped wars with phone calls." Trump appeared behind protective glass following the attempt on his life July 13 in Pennsylvania.
The image of a bloodied Trump from that day was prominent on shirts and other merchandise sold at the Asheboro rally. The assassination attempt was on Ashley Harris' mind Wednesday at the rally. The 57-year-old Asheboro woman said she had never seen Trump before.
"I am very excited because ...
I live three miles down the road and it seems like it was meant for me to be here today," she said. "God saved his life for a reason and it is to save this country. And we have to be here today to support him.
" Vice presidential candidate Vance also spoke on Wednesday, reinforcing Trump's security message. He attacked Harris on immigration, saying she would create a chaotic situation at the Southern border akin to a Black Friday rush at Walmart. J.
D. Vance welcomes Donald Trump to the stage at the campaign event at the North Carolina Aviation Museum on Wednesday. Vance described Trump as a man who sacrificed his own life of luxury for the sake of the country.
"He gave the easy life up so that we could get our country back," Vance said. Trump’s visit to Asheboro came exactly a month after President Joe Biden ended his campaign and Kamala Harris emerged as the Democratic candidate. North Carolina election observers said the change has had a significant impact on the state of the race in the state.
“The big switch from Biden to Harris fundamentally changed the nature of this race nationally and in North Carolina” said Chris Cooper, a Western Carolina University political science professor. “I think if Biden were still in this race, we would be heavily favored to go with Donald Trump. Today, it’s a tossup.
” John Dinan, a Wake Forest University professor and the chair of the university’s Department of Politics and International Affairs, agreed with that assessment. “As long as Biden was the Democratic nominee, North Carolina was looking increasingly out of reach for Democrats and was not looking all that competitive, but once Biden was pushed aside and Harris became the nominee, this re-set the race and made it a competitive contest in a way that it wasn't all that competitive as long as Biden was in the race,” Dinan wrote in an email. In order for Harris to become the first Democratic candidate since Barack Obama in 2008 to carry the Tar Heel State, Cooper said she will need to increase turnout among Black voters and narrow the margins in rural areas.
For Trump, Cooper said it will come down to replicating the success he has had in the state in the last two elections and ensuring he invests time and resources here. “I think he needs to take Harris seriously as a challenger in North Carolina and it appears that he is,” Cooper said, citing both today’s rally and Trump’s appearance in Asheville last week. Dinan said he will be keeping an eye on how much time the candidates spend in North Carolina as the campaign draws to a close.
Vendor Billy Pollard walks the line of people waiting to get into the Donald Trump Campaign event in Asheboro on Wednesday. "I need to put a hat on your head," Pollard said to people waiting in line. Donald Trump speaks to the crowd at his campaign event at the North Carolina Aviation Museum in Asheboro on Wednesday.
“It is notable that both candidates are making regular visits to North Carolina in August, because this suggests that both campaigns view the state as potentially competitive,” he said. “The next thing to watch is whether both Trump and Harris are still making frequent visits to North Carolina in the final weeks of the campaign or whether they focus even more attention on a few other battleground states.” Trump supporters at the rally had their own observations about what their candidate needs to do in the race against Harris.
"He needs to leave the personal attack out of it and hit her with policy after policy," said Kim Snell, 59. "Because she knows nothing about policies. She is clueless.
" [email protected] News & Record reporter Chaewon Chung contributed to this story.
Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter..
