ASHEBORO, N.C. (AP) — Donald Trump is holding his first outdoor rally since narrowly surviving an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania last month.
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Trump’s podium at the North Carolina Aviation Museum & Hall of Fame, where he is scheduled to deliver a speech on national security on Wednesday afternoon, is surrounded by bulletproof glass panels that form a protective wall around the stage.
Storage containers have been stacked around the space to create additional walls and block views. Snipers have been stationed on the venue’s rooftops. Behind the podium are vintage airplanes and a large American flag hangs from cranes.
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The event is part of Trump’s week-long counter-program to the Democratic National Convention currently underway in Chicago. His allies are urging him to focus on policy rather than personal attacks as he struggles to adjust to running against Vice President Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
On Tuesday night, Obama’s firepower was felt in two ways at the convention, as the former president and former first lady attacked Trump and repeatedly mentioned him by name.
“His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated and successful people who happen to be black,” Michelle Obama said in a stirring speech about Trump.
She also referred to a comment he made in a debate in June, asking: “Who is going to tell him that the job he is looking for right now might be one of those ‘black jobs’?”
Barack Obama mocked Trump’s obsession with crowd sizes, calling Trump “a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.”
“There has been a constant stream of complaints and lawsuits, which has gotten even worse since he is afraid of losing to Kamala,” the former president said.
Trump will be joined on Wednesday by his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio. He has spent the week visiting swing states, his busiest campaign week since the Republican primaries.
Given North Carolina’s importance to this year’s election, this is Trump’s second visit to the state in the last week. Last Wednesday, he delivered a speech on the economy in Asheville, North Carolina.
Trump won North Carolina by a comfortable margin in 2016. The state gave the former president his narrowest nationwide victory four years ago and is also considered a decisive battleground in 2024.
A member of the Secret Service stands guard on the runway at Asheboro Regional Airport on August 21, 2024, before Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump campaigns at the North Carolina Aviation Museum & Hall of Fame in Asheboro, North Carolina. Photo by Jonathan Drake/ Reuters
Before Trump arrived, his plane flew over the rally site. The crowd erupted in cheers.
Lisa Watts, a retired business owner from Hickory, North Carolina, who attended her fifth Trump rally, said she was “very positive” about the campaign.
“A month ago, her name wasn’t even mentioned and now she’s sort of the ‘savior of the country,'” Watts said of the vice president. “I don’t think her record proves she’s ready to govern this country.”
Watts said she did not believe Trump’s chances of winning today would be significantly different from those at the time when Biden was the Democratic nominee.
“I think the Democrats will try everything to keep her on that pedestal,” she said, predicting that the hype surrounding Harris will die down.
Colvin reported from New York.
