In Johnston County, Pence rallies rural base, promises Barrett confirmation
A joke requiring a little knowledge of tractor brands underlined how Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Johnston County on Friday was intended to rally the rural Republican base in support of President Donald Trump’s re-election.
Pence touted Trump’s record on military affairs, tax cuts and fighting the coronavirus during 53 minutes of remarks while also making several references to his Indiana roots to appeal to the crowd of about 350 at the Farm at 95, an outdoor event venue near Selma.
“President Trump has been fighting for farmers,” Pence said, while claiming Democratic nominee Joe Biden would put the country on “an inexorable path toward socialism and decline.”
Trump held a rally at the same venue five days before the election in 2016, giving a speech heavily focused on the military. On Friday, Pence covered a wide variety of talking points, but got perhaps his biggest cheer when he promised the crowd the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court was assured.
“We’re going to fill that seat, I promise you,” Pence said. “Get ready.”
In a bit of a diversion from out-of-state politicians playing on North Carolina’s love of basketball, Pence also took credit for college football being in action this fall despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The ACC has been back for nearly a month,” Pence said. “Tar Heel football is back. Wolfpack football is back. Pirates football is back. And in a week I heard the Tar Heels and the Wolfpack are going to be facing off at Kenan Stadium. How much do you love football in the fall in North Carolina? I don’t care who you’re for.”
As for the tractor joke, Pence told a story about a farmer who visits a lawyer. “Do you have a good case,” the lawyer asked. “No, I got a John Deere but I don’t know what that’s got to do with anything,” the farmer said -- Case IH being another brand of tractor.
Pence arrived at Raleigh-Durham International Airport shortly after 1:30 p.m., where he was greeted by Congressman David Rouzer, a Republican whose 7th District includes Johnston County. Rouzer introduced Pence to the crowd in Selma about an hour later. Catherine Truitt, the Republican candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction, was also present.
Ahead of Pence’s visit, former N.C. Insurance Commissioner and North Carolina Democratic Party chairman Wayne Goodwin criticized the vice president’s record on rural health care, what Goodwin called “the greatest existential threat facing rural North Carolina communities.”
“The reality is rural communities all over North Carolina have borne the brunt of this administration’s attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and gut programs like Medicaid and Medicare,” Goodwin said. “We’ve had to live through this constant threat to the health of our rural communities for four years now.”
Pence’s visit was the second by a member of the Republican ticket in as many days. Trump hosted a rally on the Pitt-Greenville Airport tarmac on Thursday, the first day of early voting in North Carolina.
“I know it’s been a long time since the president was here in North Carolina,” Pence joked.
After Pence finished, the Trump campaign announced that the president would visit Gastonia on Wednesday.
On his way back to RDU, Pence made a surprise visit to state GOP headquarters on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, where he addressed about 65 volunteers, according to reporters traveling with him. He told the gathering he was “so grateful” to them and said he and the president will remember North Carolina “when we deliver a great victory 18 days from now.”
He wrapped up the remarks by saying, “Let’s make America great again, again.”
An Emerson College poll released Thursday had Trump and Biden each at 49 percent in North Carolina. Other recent polling has shown Biden with a slight edge in the state, which has 15 electoral votes and is seen as critical to Trump’s re-election given how Biden is polling in other states Trump won in 2016.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris was also scheduled to visit North Carolina on Thursday but canceled her trip after two members of her campaign staff tested positive for COVID-19.
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 4:07 PM.
