Live updates: Former President Obama visits Charlotte to rally Kamala Harris supporters
Former President Barack Obama visited Charlotte Friday to rally supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic nominee for president.
Obama is the last Democratic presidential nominee to win North Carolina, and his Friday appearance aimed to help make Harris the second Democrat to win North Carolina’s electoral votes since Jimmy Carter. Obama previously rallied Harris supporters in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia.
His visit came during a record-setting early voting period in North Carolina, which has already surpassed 2 million ballots cast, according to the State Board of Elections. Most of those are in-person votes cast at early voting sites across the state.
Polls continue to show a tight race in North Carolina and nationwide. Former President Donald Trump leads Harris in North Carolina by less than a point, and Harris leads nationally by under 1%, according to RealClearPolitics’ averages.
Live updates from the speech are below:
Obama ends speech
8:14 p.m. Obama finished his speech with a call to attendees to make sure they vote.
“Whether this election is making you feel scared or hopeful or frustrated or anything in between, do not sit back and hope for the best,” he said. “Get off your couch and vote.”
‘Your vote matters’
8:12 p.m. Obama said politics can be frustrating, but it can improve or worsen your life.
“Politics is not going to solve all your problems. Politics will not eliminate all poverty. You elect a president, no matter how well meaning, they’re not going to eliminate racism,” he said. “Politics is not a cure, but your vote matters, because what it can do is make your life a little bit better or a little bit worse.”
Obama then moved on to talking about the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Some of those folks might be alive if we had a competent, caring president who is actually trying to make things better,” he said about Trump.
Obama said he was raised by a single mother who taught him values like treating others well and being honest and responsible. Amid Trump’s rise to power, Obama said, people seem to be throwing away basic values about right and wrong.
Obama spoke about Helene’s devastation in North Carolina, giving credit to Biden and Harris for meeting communities and criticizing Trump for spreading misinformation.
Earlier this week in Concord, Trump repeated conspiracy theories that FEMA gave disaster relief money to migrants rather than Helene victims, a claim FEMA has called untrue.
“When did that become OK?” he said. “When Donald Trump lies or cheats… people make excuses.”
Obama on governor, state superintendent races
8:01 p.m. In order to get things done, Obama said, Harris needs help from Democratic leaders in states. Obama said Roy Cooper is a great governor and North Carolinians need to elect Attorney General Josh Stein, this year’s Democratic nominee, the state’s next governor.
“Josh knows how to get stuff done,” he said. “As your governor he’ll do even more.”
Obama also criticized Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson for alleged racist, antisemitic and misogynistic comments he made on a pornography website, according to reporting by CNN.
“You do not need a governor that makes even Donald Trump look normal,” Obama said.
Obama also endorsed Democrat Mo Green for state superintendent and spoke about Republican Michele Morrow saying Obama should face a “firing squad.”
Obama on economy
7:53 p.m. Obama said people in North Carolina are struggling financially and dealing with issues created by Trump’s administration. He also criticized comments that the economy was good when Trump was elected.
“Some people say ‘well you know what, I remember the economy being pretty good when Donald Trump first came into office,’” Obama said. “Yes, it was pretty good because it was my economy.”
Obama criticized Trump’s debate performance and comments that Trump had a “concept of a plan,” for making the Affordable Care Act less expensive.
‘Sacred’ responsibility
7:44 p.m. Obama quickly jumped into criticizing Trump for his tweets, merch sales, long speeches and role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.
“His behavior has become so commonplace that people don’t take it seriously anymore,” he said. “Some of the people who know Donald Trump best have been saying in no uncertain terms that he should not be president again.”
Obama repeated comments made earlier in the rally by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder that Trump was accused by his former Chief of Staff John Kelly of saying positive things about Hitler.
Obama said Trump does not take being commander in chief as a “sacred” responsibility — but rather an opportunity to get the military to “do his bidding.”
“We do not need four years of a wanna-be king running around trying to punish his enemies. That’s not what you need in your life,” Obama said. “Turn the page. We are ready for a better story.”
Hecklers interrupt Obama
7:36 p.m. Obama began his speech by saying he’s in town for one reason — to ask people to vote for Stein and Harris. Obama urged attendees to make sure their friends and families have a plan to vote, too.
“We know that this election is going to be tight because there are lots of Americans that are still struggling, and as a country, we’ve been through a lot over these last few years,” he said.
Obama was interrupted shortly into his speech by yelling in the crowd. Attendees booed and shouted over the disruption before security escorted what appeared to be two or three people out. It’s unclear what was shouted.
“I was just talking about how polite everyone in North Carolina is,” Obama said in response to the disturbance.
Former Carolina Panthers player endorses Harris
7:29 p.m. Thomas Davis, a former Carolina Panthers linebacker, spoke about people affected by Hurricane Helene before endorsing Harris for president.
“As an African-American male, for so many years, we never believed or never thought that somebody that looked like us could actually be the president of the United States, and then Barack Obama came along,” he said. “They told us that we would never see a female president, and now we have (Harris) coming along.”
Davis spoke about low voter turnout and urged people to vote before introducing Obama.
NC Gov. Roy Cooper
6:58 p.m. Gov. Cooper opened his speech by saying, “I keep saying, I got that 2008 feeling.”
“And that’s not just because he’s in town,” Cooper said in a reference to Obama winning North Carolina in 2008.
Cooper briefly spoke about the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene before telling attendees that even natural disasters don’t stop elections.
“We’ve got a lot of challenges over the next four years, but I know that we have one hell of a fighter to take them on,” Cooper said. “Kamala will fight for you.”
NC Attorney General Josh Stein
6:52 p.m. Attorney General Stein reminded attendees that in November 2008 voters turned North Carolina over to Democrats when the state voted for Obama. Stein said voters this year need to show up for their neighbors that have been through difficult times, a reference to Helene damage in the western portion of the state.
Stein said, if elected, he would veto any further restrictions on women’s reproductive freedoms. For that veto to be effective, Democrats need to break Republicans’ current supermajority in the N.C. General Assembly.
Stein referenced the CNN report that alleged Lt. Gov. Robinson made racist, antisemetic and misogynistic comments on a pornography website over a decade ago. Robinson is suing CNN for defamation over that lawsuit.
“Robinson reportedly called himself a Nazi, praised Hitler, glorified slavery. It is despicable,” Stein said. “But there’s not a single person in this room tonight who needed that CNN story to know that that man is unfit to be our governor.”
US Rep. Alma Adams
6:39 p.m. U.S. Rep. Alma Adams said women’s rights and the rights of Black people are on the ballot this year.
“This election is truly a matter of life and death,” she said. “The stakes in this election couldn’t be higher.”
Adams said abortion bans endanger the lives of women, particularly Black women, who have a higher chance of dying during child birth. She said Trump also failed Black communities during the pandemic.
“None of the polling, (none of the) endless news cycles, none of it means anything if we don’t turn this mother out,” she said. “Bring real change to North Carolina, change to the United States.”
Adams’ speech was also interrupted by a medical emergency in the crowd, which medics responded to in a few minutes.
Former AG Eric Holder
6:11 p.m. Former U.S. Attorney General Holder said Republicans in the country are working to stifle fundamental freedoms of voters, something he said North Carolinians have experienced firsthand.
Holder referenced comments made by U.S. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris this week that North Carolina’s legislators should give the state’s electors to Trump before the election due to the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
Holder also said Trump said positive things about Hitler and referenced claims made by Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly.
At one point, Holder had to briefly pause his speech for around five minutes and call for medical help as one attendee appeared to faint.
”That’s another thing that shows the difference between us and them. We care a great deal about the people who come out to support us now,” he said. “If this was Donald Trump we know what would happen, right? We put on 30 minutes of music.”
DNC Chair Jaime Harrison
6:01 p.m. Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison told attendees this election may be the most important of their lives.
He said the choice of who to vote for isn’t a complicated one this year. Harrison said Trump is unfit for office due to his 34 felony convictions.
“This election is about hope versus fear. It’s about progress versus chaos,” he said. “The contrast between the two candidates and parties is crystal clear.”
He said Trump would not fight for women’s rights. Harrison said Trump would cut Medicare and social security and shut down the Department of Education. The Democratic Party, he said, is focused on moving forward.
“This is the year of the woman,” Harrison said. “(Harris) will continue that great tradition of Democratic presidents … fighting for each and every one of us regardless of our religion, regardless of our background, regardless who we love, how we love, how much money we got in our pockets.”
Johnson C Smith University president
5:52 p.m. Valerie Kinloch, president of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, was the first speaker of the night. She said Harris is creating opportunities for Black Americans to start small businesses, access higher education and buy homes.
Kinloch said former President Donald Trump cannot be trusted to help support young people.
“Young people are fired up about this election,” she said. “Young black voters want a leader with a vision for our future like Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Kinloch urged attendees to vote early and register to vote if they haven’t already and reminded attendees they need a voter ID or an ID exemption form to cast a ballot.
“We have a fight ahead of us,” she said. “This fight is for our future.”
Inside the ballroom
5:11 p.m. Lively attendees waved their hands up and down to “All I Do is Win” by DJ Khaled as they waited for the program to start.
In the dimly-lit ballroom, a live DJ led the crowd in dances and chants. ”Is this a safe space for Obama?” A DJ asked the crowd, urging them to keep their energy and dancing up.
Rally attendees on voting for Harris
5 p.m. Waiting in line to enter the Charlotte Convention Center, Rosaland Groves described her reason for wanting to come to Friday’s rally in one word: Obama.
She first saw him campaign in 2008, his first presidential race, and sees similarities between that election and Harris’s run in 2024.
”The positivity, hope,” Groves said.
Groves said she’s “very excited” about Harris’s chances, but “nervous” too. She’s hoping to see big turnout in Charlotte and beyond.
”If turnout is good, I think we’ll be just fine,” she said.
Inside the ballroom, where Obama spoke, Chris Rich said he’s registered as an unaffiliated voter and has voted Republican in the past. He’s voting for Harris this year.
Rich was recently diagnosed with cancer and credits the Affordable Care Act with getting him the insurance he needs to cover his treatments. He’s also concerned about misinformation, especially in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
Rich owns a home in Boone and said his experience with FEMA has been positive.
”They were extremely pleasant, very kind,” he said.
Rich said he thinks both Harris and Trump have good economic policies but Harris “goes about doing it better.”
“I think it’s going to be a tight election,” he said. “I’m feeling cautiously optimistic, because unfortunately there’s a lot of misinformation out there.”
Lines of people in uptown Charlotte
3:45 p.m. A line snaked down S. College Street by 3:45 p.m. as crowds began to gather for Obama’s first campaign rally in the Charlotte area of the 2024 election cycle.
Groups browsed Harris-Walz branded T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, buttons and flags on tables set up by vendors along uptown sidewalks as they made their way to the Charlotte Convention Center. Canvassers with clipboards also dotted the sidewalk, encouraging people to check their voter registration and vote early.
Republicans call visit ‘desperate’
Ahead of Obama’s visit a spokesperson for the North Carolina Republican Party called the rally “desperate.”
“The desperate final days of the Harris campaign are here,” NCGOP spokesperson Matt Mercer said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer. “Bringing divisive figures like Barack Obama back to North Carolina is a reminder that President Trump will once again fix the economy, fix the border and make America respected again on the world stage.”
This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 8:55 AM.
