Donald Trump is holding his first outdoor rally since narrowly surviving an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania last month.
Mr. Trump’s podium at the North Carolina Aviation Museum & Hall of Fame, where he is scheduled to deliver a speech on national security Wednesday afternoon, is surrounded by bulletproof glass that forms a protective wall across the entire stage.
Containers have been stacked around the perimeter of the space to create additional walls and block sight lines. Snipers have been positioned on the venue’s rooftops, where old airplanes sit behind the podium and a large American flag hangs from cranes.
Responding to the Democratic Convention
The event is part of Mr Trump’s week of “counter-programming” ahead of the Democratic National Convention, currently underway in Chicago. His allies have urged him to focus on policy rather than personal attacks as he struggles to adjust to his race against Vice President Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden withdrew his candidacy.
On Tuesday night at the Democratic convention, former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama attacked Mr. Trump, repeatedly criticizing him.
“His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, college-educated, successful people who were black,” Ms.me Obama on Mr. Trump in fiery speech.
She also referred to a comment he made during a debate in June, asking: “Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s looking for right now might be one of those ‘black jobs’?”
Barack Obama mocked Mr Trump’s obsession with crowd size and called the Republican candidate “a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped complaining about his problems since he rode his golden escalator nine years ago”.
“It’s a constant stream of complaints and grievances that are getting worse now that he’s afraid of losing to Kamala,” the former president said.
Donald Trump will be joined Wednesday by his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, who has spent the last few days touring key states in his busiest week of campaigning since the Republican primaries.
Reflecting North Carolina’s importance in this year’s election, the trip is Mr. Trump’s second to the state in the past week. Last Wednesday, he appeared in Asheville, N.C., for a speech on the economy.
Donald Trump won North Carolina by a comfortable margin in 2016. The state handed the former president his closest statewide victory four years ago and is again seen as a key battleground in 2024.