Donald Trump talks tariffs, immigration at Charlotte-area warehouse, avoids Robinson story
Former President Donald Trump returned to the Charlotte area Wednesday for a campaign event where he focused largely on immigration and the economy. He avoided the latest developments in North Carolina’s governor race.
The Republican nominee addressed a crowd of hundreds for a little more than an hour on the warehouse floor of a factory in Mint Hill. He repeated familiar rhetoric about crime and personal attacks on his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump pledged to support American manufacturing jobs by offering tax cuts to U.S.-based companies and imposing tariffs on foreign-made goods.
”We will take in hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said.
Referencing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, Trump described the world as being on the brink of a major global outbreak of violence.
“We have never been so close to World War III,” he said. “... I will ensure World War III will not happen.”
It’s his second visit to the critical battleground state in recent days, after holding a rally in Wilmington on Saturday. Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, was in Charlotte on Monday for multiple campaign events.
The visit also comes as Republicans across the state grapple with a scandal surrounding Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, whose campaign for governor was upended by a CNN report alleging he made racist and sexually explicit comments on a pornography website’s message board. Democrats have tried to tie other GOP candidates up and down the ballot, including Trump, to Robinson in the wake of the story.
Trump did not acknowledge the story during the Mint Hill event, and Robinson wasn’t among the state and local leaders who appeared or spoke Wednesday. Robinson has appeared at past Trump campaign events, and the former president previously called him “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
The Republican nominee said he’s “dominating” the presidential race, but recent polls show thin margins in the majority of key swing states, including North Carolina. Trump’s lead in North Carolina is just half a percentage point, according to RealClearPolitics’ polling average.
Below are live updates on Trump’s visit, with the latest news at the top:
Trump concludes remarks with call to vote
2:13 p.m. Trump ended his speech after more than an hour with a call for supporters to turn out and vote in the election
”We want a landslide that’s too big to rig,” he said.
Trump: ‘We have never been so close to World War III’
2 p.m. Trump said the U.S. and other countries are on the brink of a global conflict, citing the war in Ukraine and unrest in the Middle East.
Trump claimed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the latest Israel-Hamas war wouldn’t have happened if he were in office.
“We have never been so close to World War III,” he said. “... I will ensure World War III will not happen.”
Trump went on to accuse Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of casting “dispersions” on him while visiting the U.S. Trump predicted most of Ukraine will never recover from the war.
“A deal could have been made if we had a competent president,” Trump said of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Trump repeats claims about Colorado, Ohio towns
1:50 p.m. Trump repeated claims that undocumented immigrants are “taking over” major U.S. cities.
He referenced Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City as well as Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio. Both towns have become synonymous with conservatives’ messaging on immigration, but many of the claims about their immigrant communities have been debunked.
The woman behind a Facebook post that sparked a claim about Haitian immigrants told NBC news she has since deleted the post and regrets the rumor that it sparked.
Trump criticizes Harris’ energy policies, policy changes
1:45 p.m. Trump accused Harris of flip-flopping on her views on fracking.
He said the Biden-Harris administration’s energy policies have driven up electric prices and predicted Harris would backtrack on her 2024 campaign pledge to not ban fracking.
Harris opposed the practice while running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2019.
”Politicians always go back to where they came from,” he said.
He also launched personal attacks on Harris, including calling her father a “Marxist” and saying she “destroyed” San Francisco and California while serving in state and local office. ”She’ll destroy the United States of America,” he said.
The crowd is beginning to thin out as the speech continues.
Trump pledges tariffs on foreign-made goods
1:35 p.m. Trump said he will offer tax cuts to corporations who operate in the U.S. and impose tariffs on foreign-made goods.
”We will take in hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said.
But many experts say tariffs raise prices for consumers, too.
Trump said he will also allow U.S. manufacturers to write off the cost of machinery.
Trump touts repeal of NAFTA, trade deal
1:30 p.m. Trump touted the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement he signed while in office, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement. He said the decision created jobs in the U.S.
“Under my plan, American workers will no longer be worried about losing their jobs to foreign nations,” he said.
Trump says Harris lied about McDonald’s, promises to work french fry station
1:25 p.m. Trump accused Harris of lying about working at a McDonald’s restaurant when she was in college.
Harris has said repeatedly on the campaign trail that she worked at the fast food chain while in college. A USA Today fact check found no evidence she was being dishonest about her work history or that the restaurant made a public statement about her employment.
Trump said he would visit one of the chain’s locations and work the french fry station at a later date.
”I think I’m gonna go to McDonald’s,” he said.
Trump repeats claims on immigration, crime
1:20 p.m. Trump repeated his frequent campaign message that crime is up in the U.S. in large part because of undocumented immigrants.
He accused the government of Venezuela of sending people with criminal histories to the U.S. But the latest numbers released by the FBI say crime rates, including violent crimes such as murder and rape, dropped nationally from 2022 to 2023 and are falling in 2024.
Republicans, including Attorney General Dan Bishop, have raised concerns about the crime statistics — falsely claiming that the FBI didn’t include homicides from Los Angeles and New Orleans.
Trump pledges ‘manufacturing renaissance’
1:18 p.m. Trump said if elected he will spark a “manufacturing renaissance” in the U.S.
He referenced his Tuesday speech in Georgia, where he said he U.S. will “take other countries’ jobs,” by offering “the lowest taxes, the lowest energy costs [and] the lowest regulatory burden.”
Trump also noted Harris is giving a speech on manufacturing this week and questioned why she hasn’t executed her campaign proposals while vice president.
”Why didn’t she do everything three-and-a-half years ago?” he asked
Trump blames Iran for two assassination attempts
1:11 p.m. Trump acknowledged the two assassination attempts on him, saying they may be related to Iran. He didn’t immediately describe evidence for why Iran may be to blame.
”In the old days the FBI and DOJ used to catch people before anything happened,” he said. “It’s a political scam.”
He pledged to return to Butler, Pennslyvania, where he was grazed by a bullet during an outdoor rally.
Trump thanked Democrats and congressional representatives for increasing funding for the Secret Service — people who he said work “very hard.” He noted it was a unanimous decision to increase the funding.
“Around the world our enemies are desperate to prevent Donald Trump from returning to the White House because they know I will make America great again,” he said. “They don’t want that.”
Trump takes the stage
1:09 p.m. Trump began his speech by thanking the Mosack group for allowing him to hold the rally in its factory.
He said the group told him the factory was defunct until Trump implemented tariffs that revived the business.
Trump called out a number of candidates in attendance, including Republican congressional candidate Mark Harris, noting he is not related to Kamala Harris. Trump said Mark Harris is doing much better than Kamala Harris is in the election.
Jobs, Jobs Jobs
12:30 p.m.: About 30 minutes before Trump’s scheduled speech, attendees nodded along to country music and chatted among themselves on the floor of the Mosack Group factory.
The crowd, mostly standing, squeezed in among nearly ceiling-high shelfs of products in the warehouse section of the factory. They wore “Team Trump 2024” stickers. Many also sported Trump’s signature red “Make American Great Again” baseball caps and clamored when campaign staff began passing out “47” signs.
A large American flag and “JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!” sign hung behind the podium where the former president will speak.
Introductory speakers
11:50 a.m. The rally kicked off with a prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance led by Chad Brown, Republican candidate for North Carolina Secretary of State and opening remarks by Mark Harris, Republican candidate for North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District.
“Personnel led to bad policy and I want you to know it’s time to say to Kamala Harris and the rest of that administration, ‘you’re fired,’” Harris said.
Harris campaign draws connection between Trump and Robinson
The Harris campaign held a news conference ahead of Trump’s Mint Hill visit, drawing a connection between Trump and Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said Robinson was “hand-picked” by Trump and wouldn’t fight for working class Americans if elected. He criticized Trump’s previous comments at an Asheville rally that the economy wasn’t the most important issue to voters.
“Maybe for Donald Trump, a Manhattan billionaire who has never earned one dollar that wasn’t handed to him on a silver platter, that the economy isn’t important to him. Or maybe for his buddy, Mark Robinson, who makes $150,000 a year for a job that he barely shows up to, maybe the economy is not an important issue for him,” Harrison said. “But for North Carolinians, North Carolinians who work every single day to provide for themselves and their families, the economy is a critically important issue.”
Trump previously endorsed Robinson, who’s facing criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike for comments he allegedly made over a decade ago on a pornography website, including one where he referred to himself as a “Black Nazi.” CNN first published a story tying Robinson to the comments. Trump has called Robinson “Martin Luther King on Steroids.”
Geoff Duncan, the former Republican Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, said Trump’s endorsement of Robinson is indicative of the direction the Republican party is headed.
“I can’t imagine to think how many other Mark Robinsons are out there inside the Republican Party,” he said. “Trump has taken his eye off the ball caring about anything about conservative principles or good people, and he solely asked one question when he endorses somebody as wholeheartedly as he did Mark Robinson, and that is, ‘will you trumpet the 2020 election fraud scheme loudly and proudly?’”
Where to expect traffic backups
Expect heavier backups than unusual on some Charlotte-area roads as Donald Trump holds at a campaign rally in Mint Hill on Wednesday.
Trump is scheduled to speak at 1 p.m. at Mosack Group, 11210 Allen Station Drive, according to his campaign.
That’s off N.C. 51, so expect congestion on that main route. It’s also just outside of Interstate 485. Police haven’t announced any road closures.
Previous Trump visits to Charlotte this year also have meant congestion on roads around Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and closing Interstate 85 for hours.
This story was originally published September 25, 2024 at 12:38 PM.
