Trump rallies North Carolina Republicans behind Whatley Senate bid

President Donald Trump put crime and public safety at the center of a high-stakes North Carolina Senate race Wednesday, urging Republican voters to rally behind Michael Whatley in a contest that could help determine control of the chamber for the second half of Trump’s second term.

Speaking at an airport rally in Gastonia, Trump told supporters to treat the November election as if he were on the ballot. “I’m not bragging, but when I’m on the ticket Republicans have always done really well,” he said. “I just want you to go out and pretend I’m on the ticket, because essentially I am.”

Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chairman, is running against former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper for the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, a Trump critic. Democrats must net four seats in November to win control of the Senate, making North Carolina one of the party’s top pickup opportunities.

Trump has now traveled to North Carolina three times since December to support Whatley. He won the state in all three of his presidential campaigns, while Cooper won the governorship there in 2016 and 2020. Whatley has tied his candidacy closely to Trump, telling the crowd before the president spoke, “President Trump needs an ally who will work to lower costs, protect our families and preserve the American dream.” He also praised Trump as the “greatest president of our lifetime.”

Trump returned the praise, calling Whatley his hand-picked choice and “one of the greatest men I ever worked with in government.” He said Whatley was the “candidate of law and order” and argued that the election was about “safety” and “bad management.”

Much of Trump’s hourlong speech focused on violent crime. He accused Democrats of being soft on criminals and used an oversized video screen to show mug shots of unnamed suspects. “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.

Trump also invoked the killing of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian woman who was stabbed to death last year on a commuter train in Charlotte. The Guardian reported that Trump falsely claimed the man arrested and charged in her killing, Decarlos Brown Jr., had been released from prison by Cooper.

Trump explicitly compared his attack on Cooper to the 1988 “Willie Horton” ad used by George H.W. Bush against Michael Dukakis. “Same thing as this. Same exact thing,” Trump said after describing the case.

Crime has not ranked as a top concern for most voters in NBC News polling over the past year, trailing issues including the economy, threats to democracy and health care. But Trump and North Carolina Republicans are seeking to make it a liability for Cooper, who Trump said “tries to pretend he’s a moderate.”

Cooper currently holds advantages in polling and fundraising. An Elon University poll of likely voters showed him leading Whatley by 11 percentage points. Campaign finance reports showed Cooper with nearly $21 million available as of June 30, compared with $3.5 million for Whatley.

Todd Blanche, the U.S. attorney general, spoke before Trump, an unusual appearance for the nation’s top law enforcement officer at a partisan political rally.

Ahead of the event, local Democrats criticized Whatley’s support for Trump’s agenda. “Why would Whatley back a war that is driving up prices for North Carolina families at a time when it’s already too hard for us to get by?” state Sen. Woodson Bradley said.

Trump also addressed economic concerns, including rising fuel costs after the Trump administration and Israel launched an attack on Iran on Feb. 28. “It’s a very inexpensive price to pay for what we’ve done,” he said, adding that prices would come down “like a rocket ship in reverse.” Before the rally, Trump criticized the Federal Reserve after it raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point, calling the central bank “very hostile” and saying rates were “too high.”