Trump lands in Charlotte, attacks Biden, Cooper, and talks about ‘12 more years.’

President Donald Trump has arrived in Charlotte, just as delegates to the Republican National Convention in uptown formally nominate him to seek a second term.

Air Force One touched down at about 11:47 a.m. on a runway at the 145th Airlift Wing of the North Carolina Air National Guard, near Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Shortly after noon, Trump stepped off the plane and waved at reporters. Some members of the president’s entourage wore masks. Trump did not.

In a fitting bit of timing, Trump’s plane landed minutes before the Florida delegation, following a speech by Vice President Mike Pence, was expected to give the president the final votes he needed for renomination.

The president’s motorcade headed east toward the city’s skyline, where Trump was to address the delegates during an appearance at the Charlotte Convention Center. Along Billy Graham Parkway, police were stationed at every intersection.

While uptown experienced small protests about the convention throughout the weekend, there were no signs of protesters on Trump’s route into the center city.

After about a 10-minute drive in from the airport, the president arrived at the convention center shortly before 12:30. Withing minutes, he had taken the stage to chants from the delegates of “Four more years.”

“If you really want to drive them crazy, say ‘Twelve more years,’” Trump retorted.

The president returns to a city and state with which he has a complicated relationship. Trump’s company’s owns a residential golfing community on Lake Norman, and he carried North Carolina in his 2016 upset win over Hillary Clinton. Moreover, Charlotte was the only city in America that bid to hold his second convention.

But in June, Trump pulled most of the event out of Charlotte when Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and health officials balked at giving him the full convention venue and slate of activities he demanded despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most of the festivities, including Trump’s acceptance speech, were moved to Jacksonville, Fla., then canceled outright as the virus quickly enveloped much of the country, threatening the president’s re-election. Polls show him trailing the Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden.

During his remarks to the delegates, Trump again attacked Cooper, saying he would stayed in a “total shut-down mood” until after the election to weaken the economy and hurt the president’s standing with voters.

Trump said he felt an obligation to come to North Carolina, saying it has treated him well. He then criticized Biden and the Democrats for holding a virtual convention instead of going to Milwaukee.

“People will remember this in November,” Trump said.

After Trump’s speech at the convention center, he is scheduled to head west to Henderson County to visit a regional grower and packer of vegetables that is helping get food to families in need.

This story was originally published August 24, 2020 at 11:48 AM.