Donald Trump has urged North Carolina voters to support Republicans in November’s midterm elections, using a rally in Greenville to back Senate candidate Michael Whatley as he trails Democratic nominee Roy Cooper.
The former Republican National Committee chairman is seeking to replace outgoing Republican Senator Thom Tillis, but Cooper has maintained a lead of more than ten points in recent polling.
Trump told supporters they should “pretend” he was on the ballot, repeating a message used during his campaign appearances across several states.
“Because when I’m on the ballot, we do unbelievably,” he said. “Please pretend I’m on a ballot. And in a way, I am on the ballot.”
Trump added: “And I think we’re going to do great, I just feel it.”
His appearance at Pitt-Greenville Airport was his second visit to North Carolina in four weeks. He said he planned to return for a third time before election day, prompting cheers from the crowd.
“We have like 15 days, and I’m doing about 18 rallies,” Trump said of his wider campaign tour, which includes stops in South Carolina, Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and Texas.
“That’s work. But it’s not work in front of North Carolina,” he told supporters.
The race has become increasingly difficult for Whatley, with the leading Republican super PAC and other party fundraising groups halting advertising expenditure after Cooper built a wider-than-expected advantage.
Cooper’s campaign has raised almost three times as much as Whatley’s, according to the material presented at the rally. A Democratic victory would be significant for the party, which has not won a North Carolina Senate seat since 2008.
Voter turnout in North Carolina is 37 per cent higher than at the same stage of the 2022 midterm elections and is also ahead of the level recorded in 2018.
Trump sought to remind the crowd of his record in the state, which has voted for him three times. Referring to the 2024 election, he said: “We won the Senate. We won everything.”
Two protesters were removed shortly after Trump began speaking. It was unclear what they had said before being escorted from the rally.
