CHARLOTTE, N.C. (NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail Wednesday, holding his first rally since Vice President Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee.
This rally, one of Trump’s first since the assassination attempt, was in Charlotte, North Carolina, a state that’s expected to be an important battleground for the Nov. 5 election.
The former president turned his full focus on Harris, calling her a “lyin, L-Y-I-N,” “incompetent” and “ultra-liberal candidate.” Trump has dubbed Harris “Laughin’ Kamala” and “Lyin’ Kamala” in attacks on her since she jumped into the presidential race.
The GOP candidate kept mispronouncing Harris’ first name and proceeded to attack her record on the border and as an attorney general in California.
He called her the “border czar” for her assignment of addressing the root causes of migration from Central America and called it a “joke” that she went to Europe days before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
Trump said the Democrats “had a very undemocratic move” and forced President Joe Biden out.
The former president highlighted a series of positions Harris took during her 2020 presidential campaign, including her backing of Sanders’s “Medicare for All” bill and her support for banning fracking.
“We’re going to bring back the American Dream for our children,” Trump said.
He also praised his vice presidential pick Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, on his background. The event marks only the second rally where Trump and Vance have appeared as a team, just a week after the failed assassination attempt against the former president.
The Ohio Republican, a Trump critic turned loyalist, joined the former president in Michigan over the weekend, where he spent a good portion levying attacks on Harris.
“I will terminate every single open border policy on the first day,” Trump said.
“I was supposed to be nice. They say something happened to me when I got shot. I became nice,” Trump told the crowd. “And when you’re dealing with these people, they’re very dangerous people, you can’t be too nice. So if you don’t mind, I’m not going to be nice. Is that OK?”
A Marist poll found Trump with 46 percent support and Harris with 45 percent support nationally, with about 9 percent of respondents undecided. With third-party candidates included, Harris and Trump are tied.
What security measures are in place?
Trump supporters are known for showing up early and will begin flocking to Bojangles Coliseum for Wednesday night’s rally.
A security sweep was set for 11 a.m., with safety being a top concern following the assassination attempt at a campaign rally July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump trying to win North Carolina for the third time
Now that Biden is out of the race, Democrats hope Harris will win over disaffected women in swing states like North Carolina.
Catherine Lasseigne, a suburban mom, told NewsNation that the 45th president has her vote.
“I think his policies were good. I wouldn’t want to date him, but I thought he did a good job for the country. I thought we were safer when he was president,” Lasseigne said.
North Carolina typically leans red, and a Democratic presidential candidate hasn’t won there since 2008, when former President Barack Obama won by just half a percentage point. Trump narrowly won the state in 2020.
North Carolina governor potential VP pick for Harris
The Harris campaign has tapped Eric Holder, who served as US attorney general from 2009 to 2015, to help vet potential vice president picks, but they’ve remained tight-lipped so far.
However, there’s speculation that Harris could potentially pick North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper as her running mate to help turn the purple state blue.
Both Harris and Cooper are former state attorneys general and have known each other for years. Cooper introduced Harris at campaign stops in Greensboro and Fayetteville, North Carolina, earlier this month.
Some voters in Charlotte told NewsNation that regardless of whom Harris chooses as her running mate, she has their vote.
“I think she has energy and she has a sense of justice, and I think she’s going to work for the average person,” said David Alexander, a North Carolina voter. “I don’t think Trump is going to do that. I think Trump works for the rich people.”
“I’m super thrilled a female is getting in that power, I would love a woman president to represent our country and all of us,” said North Carolina voter Angela Roach.
North Carolina was the only swing state Biden lost in 2020, as he carried Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
The Associated Press and The Hill contributed to this report.
