- “I haven’t seen this much energy since before 2020. We’re going to stick to our plan. We’re focused on Trump. Nothing else," said Mecklenburg County NC Republican Party Chairwoman Lorena Castillo-Ritz.
An enthusiastic crowd showed up en masse on Wednesday afternoon to hear remarks by former President Donald Trump at Bojangles Coliseum.
This was Trump’s second rally since an assassination attempt was made on his life during an outdoor rally in Pennsylvania two weeks ago.
Before he took the stage, rally goers heard from NC House Speaker Tim Moore, National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd, Congressmen Dan Bishop and Richard Hudson, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, and former NASCAR driver Richard Childress.
In an interview with Carolina Journal during the rally, Mecklenburg County NC Republican Party Chairwoman Lorena Castillo-Ritz said the energy in the venue was palpable and that the focus going into the November election is geared towards Trump.
“The energy in the building is just as electric as the energy at the (2024 Republican National) convention,” she said. “I haven’t seen this much energy since before 2020. We’re going to stick to our plan. We’re focused on Trump. Nothing else. We’re going to pretend like we’re 10 points behind even though we’re not. We’re sticking to our policies and moving forward the same way we were before.”
The former president spent a great deal of time criticizing the record of Vice President Kamala Harris, who has become the presumptive Democratic nominee for president in the aftermath of President Joe Biden’s announcement that he will not seek re-election to a second term.
“As you know, three days ago we officially defeated the worst president in the history of our country, crooked Joe Biden,” Trump said. “He quit because he was losing so badly in the polls. He was down so badly in every single poll and he was down by a lot, so he quit. But really what happened was the leaders of the Democrat party in a very undemocratic move, the bosses said either you get out or we’re going to throw you out using the 25th amendment, that’s what happened.”
Trump then turned his attention to Harris, crowning her with a nickname and predicting good fortune for his own electoral chances in North Carolina.
“Now we have a new victim to defeat, Lyin’ Kamala Harris, the most incompetent and far left vice president in American history,” said Trump. “Together we will win North Carolina in an epic landslide. We are way ahead in the polls. And we will take back that beautiful White House and we will very simply, make America great again.”
“For three and a half years, Lyin’ Kamala Harris has been the ultra-liberal driving force behind every single Biden catastrophe,” he continued. “She is a radical left lunatic who will destroy our country if she ever gets the chance to get into office. We’re not going to let that happen.”
Trump also slammed Harris for her handling of the influx of migrants at the U.S. southern border.
“She was the border czar, but she never went to the border,” Trump said, referring to Harris. “She was appointed by this horrible president, this horrible guy. As border czar, Kamala threw open our borders and allowed 20 million illegal aliens to stampede into our country from all over the world.”
He then re-hashed the outcome of the 2020 election, decrying President Joe Biden’s campaign tactics.
“How this guy got to be president, he stayed in his basement,” said Trump. “And we did a lot better the second time than we did the first.”
The 45th president also attacked Harris’ stances on abortion and her support for sanctuary cities.
If elected as the 47th president in November, Trump vowed to lower fuel costs, make the United States energy dominant and independent, and support law enforcement. He also promised to terminate the “open border” policy of the Biden-Harris Administration.
“We will seal the border and we will stop Kamala Harris’ invasion without delay,” said Trump.
CJ also spoke with former Charlotte City Council candidate David Merrill, who was thrilled by the atmosphere at the rally.
“The energy is absolutely electric,” said Merrill. “It always is any time Trump comes to speak. People were standing outside since eight in the morning. Everyone is so excited that he is continuing to come out and spread the message of putting America first and taking care of our own citizens.”
Merrill was also unsettled by the process of how Democratic Party leaders handled the news of Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race.
“Kamala is now unburdened by what has Biden’d,” he added. “Democrats are now circumventing their own democratic process. It’s hard to see the Democratic party call themselves the party of democracy when millions of voters who participated in their primaries have now had their votes invalided.”
In closing, Trump expressed optimism that the American dream will experience a revival if he is elected president a second time.
“The American dream will be thriving again for citizens of every race, religion, color and creed,” he said.