In NC tour, Trump targets FEMA, rallies Christians, says votes could ‘save America’
Former President Donald Trump spent nearly all of Monday in battleground North Carolina as he surveyed Hurricane Helene destruction, spoke with faith leaders and urged people to vote as election day looms just two weeks away.
The Republican nominee began in Swannanoa in Western North Carolina to see the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene before holding a rally across the state at East Carolina University’s campus in Greenville. He ended the day by heading back west, addressing faith leaders at an invite-only meeting in Concord. At each stop, he reiterated similar claims and urged people to vote for him to “save America.”
”With your vote this November, we are going to fire Kamala Harris, we are going to save America and we’re going to restore the greatness of our nation,” Trump said in Greenville.
Trump was accompanied by U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore and other officials in Western North Carolina, where he said he wished FEMA was doing more for victims of the storm. He repeated the same conspiracy theory in Swannanoa, Concord and Greenville that FEMA allocated funds to migrant services rather than Helene aid, a claim FEMA has called false.
“Our hearts are with you and we are praying for you, and we will come back, and we will be here on Jan. 20,” he said in Greenville of those affected by the storm. “You didn’t get the proper support from this administration — they spent their money on illegal migrants.”
In Greenville, at the Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, Trump spoke to rally attendees about his plans for a mass deportation of immigrants if elected, as well as his belief that Vice President Harris taking President Joe Biden’s place as the Democratic nominee for president was akin to overthrowing a U.S. president.
The coliseum is the same venue where Harris held a rally a week ago. Trump was joined by Laurie Buckhout, the Republican candidate for Congress in northeastern North Carolina, and Rep. Dan Bishop, the GOP candidate for state attorney general.
His last visit of the day took place at the Concord Convention Center where he, along with his son Eric Trump and Ben Carson, the former U.S. secretary for Housing and Urban Development, addressed religious leaders. Trump spoke about his commitment to keeping discussions of race, gender and sexuality out of schools while fighting to protect religious freedom in education.
As one of the battleground states likely to determine the outcome of this year’s presidential election, North Carolina has won significant attention from both the Trump and Harris campaigns.
Last week, Trump’s running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance, campaigned in Wilmington and Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, visited Durham and Winston-Salem alongside former President Bill Clinton.
Clinton continued on a bus tour of Eastern North Carolina, making stops in Wilmington, Fayetteville, Wilson, Greenville and Rocky Mount.
Below are updates from Trump’s North Carolina visit:
Trump closes by urging people to vote
8:05 p.m. Trump said he will work to keep discussions of sexuality and race out of schools.
“On day one I will sign an executive order banning schools from promoting critical race theory,” Trump said. “I will take historic action to defeat the toxic poison of gender ideology and reaffirm that God created two genders, male and female. I will keep men out of women’s sports. I will sign a law banning child sexual mutilation… and we will proudly say ‘Merry Christmas’ again.”
Trump closed his remarks by urging Christians to vote early and “take back the nation that we love.”
‘What I’ve done in terms of religion’
7:52 p.m. Trump reiterated his support for Israel and spoke about his 2017 decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It was a move long-desired by pro-Israel politicians in Washington, D.C., Reuters reported in 2018.
Trump also said he has worked toward ending religious persecution worldwide.
“Nobody’s done what I’ve done in terms of religion, in terms of Christianity,” he said. “I will keep on fighting for our cherished American values.”
‘We don’t tell Christians to get lost’
7:43 p.m. Trump was interrupted multiple times with chants of “Jesus.” And he called the crowd “lively.”
“At Trump rallies, we don’t tell Christians to get lost. We tell Christians to get out and vote,” he said in a reference to an interaction at a Harris rally in Wisconsin last week.
At that rally, Harris reportedly told student protesters that they were at the wrong rally when they yelled “Jesus is lord” at those around them.
“I’m here to deliver a simple message to Christians across America,” Trump said. “It’s time to stand up and save your country.”
After detouring to other topics, Trump then delivered a familiar line: “Kamala, you’re fired.”
Trump on religion, assassination attempt
7:33 p.m. Trump spoke about growing up going to a Presbyterian church in the New York City neighborhood of Jamaica, Queens. Trump said his faith “took on a new meaning” when he survived the assassination attempt in July.
“I now recognize it’s been the hand of God leading me to where I am today,” Trump said. “I like to think God saved me for a purpose and that’s to make our country greater than ever before.”
He was told after the attempt how lucky he was to avoid the bullet. The event strengthened his and his sons’ faith, Trump said.
Trump repeats false FEMA claims
7:18 p.m. Trump began his speech by speaking about the devastation left by Helene after his visit to Western North Carolina earlier Monday. He reiterated false claims for the third time Monday that FEMA allocated disaster funds to migrant services rather than Helene victims.
Trump also said voters in areas hard-hit by Helene have been turning out to vote for him.
“These are Trump people,” he said. “Those are great, great people.”
Ben Carson says using word ‘disinformation’ is like censorship
7:08 p.m. Ben Carson, the former U.S. secretary for Housing and Urban Development, said the election is not about Republicans and Democrats, but about whether the nation is secular or “one nation under God.”
Carson referenced Bible verses often while on stage, saying the country is built by people of faith. Carson said labeling things as “disinformation” is akin to censorship and is as an attempt to attack Trump.
Carson urged attendees to vote, and criticized people who say the election is a choice between two evils.
“Unless Jesus Christ is on the ballot you’re always choosing between the lesser of two evils,” Carson said.
Franklin Graham prays for Donald Trump
6:48 p.m. Evangelical leader Franklin Graham took the stage after Eric Trump and said God is the most important factor in the election.
He asked attendees to stand and pray out loud for Trump for two minutes. Attendees created a clatter of prayer across the venue. Some asked God to protect and listen to Trump’s prayers and help save America. As Graham walked off, the crowd chanted “Jesus.”
“Rallies and positive poll numbers are not going to win this election,” he said. “It’s going to be God. There is a spiritual element at work here.”
Eric Trump speaks in Concord
6:44 p.m. Eric Trump, the Republican presidential nominee’s second son, said he was confident his father would win the election and spoke about the importance of religion and God in the country and in education.
“We need God in our life, we need God in our society… we need God in our schools,” he said. “We will always be a nation of faith.”
Eric Trump said his father was behind a curtain just off stage as he spoke.
“He’s an inspiration to our entire family,” Eric Trump said. “I have never been more proud to stand on the stage with anyone, and I will stand on the stage with him until I literally die.”
Congressional nominee Mark Harris leads crowd in chant
5:22 p.m. After a prayer, the pledge of allegiance and a performance of the national anthem, former NFL player Scott Turner took the stage to greet attendees and spoke about the Bible and religious rights in America. Turner previously served as the executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council under Trump.
“We have the freedom to assemble together, the freedom to worship together, the freedom to pray together,” Turner said.
He was followed by Mark Harris, Republican nominee for the 8th Congressional District near Charlotte. Harris led the crowd in a chant of “fight, fight, fight,” the words Trump mouthed after an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“We have before us a gentleman who was actually shot and by the grace of God his life spared,” Harris said. “The times are serious, the moment is now.”
Crowd gathering in Concord
5 p.m. Lively crowds lined up outside and danced to music inside the Concord Convention Center near Charlotte as they awaited Trump’s remarks at an 11th Hour Faith Leaders Meeting with his son, Eric Trump, Ben Carson and faith leaders.
A news release by the Trump campaign ahead of the event said Trump is a defender of religious freedom and supporter of Jewish people.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the government reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that religious freedom remains a cornerstone of the nation,” the release states. “He has consistently prioritized the protection of faith communities, whether through combating antisemitism or defending the rights on Christians.”
But a spokesperson from the Democratic National Committee criticized comments previously made by Trump and faith leaders in attendance.
“Donald Trump is relying on anti-choice extremists and conspiracy theorists to make his closing pitch to voters while he goes on unhinged rants threatening our freedoms and our democracy,” spokesperson Aida Ross said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer. “Trump’s surrogates today include far-right MAGA allies who, like Trump, have pushed reckless lies about the response to Hurricane Helene and railed against our reproductive freedoms, even calling abortion ‘the greatest evil in our country.’”
The event was organized by Clay Clark, who wrote a false claim on social media that the government manipulated weather to cause Hurricane Helene to access lithium deposits in North Carolina, Media Matters first reported.
Trump leaves stage, promising to ‘save America’
4:20 p.m. Trump wrapped up his Greenville rally by making a variety of promises for his second term in office, including to end the war in Ukraine and to get “critical race theory and transgender insanity” out of schools.
”With your vote this November, we are going to fire Kamala Harris, we are going to save America and we’re going to restore the greatness of our nation,” he said.
Trump on deportation
4 p.m.: Much of Trump’s remarks centered on stopping illegal immigration and sending migrants to other countries.
“When I win on Nov. 5, the migrant invasion ends and the restoration of our country begins,” Trump said.
“The United States is now an occupied country, but on Nov. 5, 2024, we will be a liberated country.”
“I will launch the largest deportation program in American history,” Trump said later. “I will rescue every town across America that has been invaded and conquered.”
Trump also called for the death penalty “for any illegal immigrant that kills an American citizen.”
Trump on the election
3:35 p.m.: Trump called Harris’ replacement of Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket “the overthrow of a president of the United States.”
Later, he spoke about how North Carolina is setting records for early voting.
And after noting that California always votes Democrat, he said: “I’d love to have God to come down and be the vote counter, just for one day, and see how well we’d do in California.”
Trump claimed Harris’ recent “60 Minutes” interview was election interference, calling it “the biggest scandal in the history of broadcasting.” The show has denied Trump’s claim that it selectively edited an answer from Harris. At the rally, Trump asked: “Can you imagine if that happened with me? It would be over — the electric chair.”
Trump on Helene devastation
3:25 p.m.: Trump noted in Greenville that he saw the damage from Hurricane Helene earlier in the day in Western North Carolina.
“Our hearts are with you and we are praying for you, and we will come back, and we will be here on Jan. 20,” he said of those affected by the storm. “You didn’t get the proper support from this administration — they spent their money on illegal migrants.”
FEMA has refuted the false claims that the agency diverted disaster relief funds to immigrants in order to conflate FEMA’s disaster fund with other pots of money.
Trump also thanked billionaire Elon Musk for providing Starlink internet access to Western North Carolina.
Trump takes the stage in Greenville
3:15 p.m.: Former President Trump appeared shortly after 3 p.m. as “God Bless the USA” played, walking around the stage for the full length of the song.
The crowd chanted, “USA,” and Trump asked: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” The crowd yelled: “No.”
Later, Trump got big cheers when he said: “Kamala, you’re fired.”
Trump said if he returns to the White House America will be “bigger, better, bolder and safer than ever before.”
Trump said illegal immigration is the biggest problem the country faces, even bigger than inflation. “We want people to come into our country but they have to come in legally,” he said.
Dan Bishop, candidate for AG, campaigns on ‘law and order’
2 p.m. U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop told the crowd he aimed to become the first Republican elected attorney general in North Carolina in over 100 years.
“To replace woke lawfare with common sense, to restore law and order and to back the men and women of law enforcement,” he said.
He’s running against U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson, a Democrat recently drawn out of his congressional seat.
Bishop went on to encourage Republicans to vote early, part of the GOP’s new embrace of early and mail-in voting. In 2020, Trump and other Republicans cast doubt about the security of these voting methods and spread false conspiracy theories about fraud.
He noted that, compared to 2020, Republicans have shown up in higher numbers to vote early and by mail. As of Monday morning, nearly 342,000 registered Republicans had cast their ballot, accounting for about 33% of all votes.
Democrats have a slightly higher turnout so far, with 35% of the votes at this point.
While still slightly behind, Republicans have substantially narrowed the early voting turnout gap with Democrats, compared to 2020. At this time in that election, Democrats accounted for over 46% of all ballots cast.
“You must build a victory that is too big to rig,” Bishop said.
Candidate Laurie Buckhout speaks at ECU
1:55 p.m.: Republican congressional candidate Laurie Buckhout was one of the first speakers to take the stage in Greenville, beginning with a story about the day Trump was shot in Pennsylvania.
“I did 26 years in the Army and a year in combat and I’ve never seen courage like that,” she said. “... You’re gonna see a fighter in me too.”
Buckhout’s opponent, U.S. Rep. Don Davis, campaigned with Harris last week at the same arena.
Buckout and Davis’ race is the only competitive congressional contest in the state and could be crucial in determining which party takes control of the U.S. House.
In Greenville, attendees fill arena
1 p.m. Attendees eagerly awaited Trump’s arrival at the Minges Coliseum in Greenville, filling the arena with several hours until the former president’s expected remarks.
John Heath, a Goldsboro resident, said he considered himself socially liberal, but agreed with Trump on the economy and military.
“He can only do so much to change that kind of thing,” Heath said when asked about potential changes to social policy under Trump. “He’s gonna be so busy fixing other stuff that he’s not even gonna worry about it.”
He said his concern with Vice President Kamala Harris is that she doesn’t seem prepared for the presidency, pointing to her performance in TV interviews.
“She sounds like me trying to give a book report in sixth grade,” Heath said. “If she doesn’t prepare for this, why would she prepare for something bigger?”
Trump leaves Western NC
12:30 p.m. Trump departed in his motorcade after less than an hour at the news conference in Swannanoa.
Trump shook hands with his fellow speakers before getting back in his car. He’s scheduled to head east for an event in Greenville before returning to the Charlotte area for an event in Concord.
After a reporter shouted a question asking if he still supports Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson for governor, Trump said he hasn’t been keeping up with the state’s gubernatorial election.
Robinson’s campaign was rocked last month after CNN reported on racist and sexually explicit comments he allegedly made years ago on a pornography website’s message board.
Congress, FEMA storm response
12:18 p.m. Trump said in response to a reporter’s question he’s in favor of Congress reconvening to allocate more federal aid for Helene victims. Congress isn’t scheduled to be back in session until after the election.
He said FEMA has mismanaged its storm response.
“It’s a shame … I think it’s a disgrace,” he said.
Trump said FEMA spent “hundreds of millions” on things it wasn’t supposed to, including undocumented immigrants. He didn’t provide any additional detail during Monday’s news conference about the claim, but he’s made the allegation at rallies and online before. FEMA says it has not diverted disaster relief money to people living in the country without authorization.
Asked whether his continued negative comments about FEMA could be contributing to threats against the agency in North Carolina, Trump said honest people in the region are saying the agency’s response has been poor.
“I think you have to let people know how they’re doing,” he said.
Trump talks about NC elections after Helene
12:13 p.m. Trump encouraged those impacted by the storm to still find ways to vote, including using early voting or mail-in ballots. North Carolina set records on its first day of early voting and already topped 1 million ballots cast over the weekend.
Trump expressed optimism about his chances in North Carolina.
“The early returns are phenomenal,” he said.
No votes have been tabulated yet.
Michael Bitzer, a politics professor at Catawba College in Salisbury, said in a post on X that Democrats represent the largest portion of votes, with 366,580 votes. A total of 343,501 Republicans cast ballots before Monday.
Party affiliation, though, doesn’t indicate who the person voted for.
Asked about his message to undecided voters, Trump said he’s confident in his polling numbers.
He accused Harris of being “unfit” to be president and said he’s campaigning on “full blast.”
Trump claims he was ‘first’
12:05 p.m. Trump claimed that he was “first” in North Carolina after Helene and that he didn’t come to tour earlier because of the scale of damage.
President Joe Biden took an aerial tour of Western North Carolina and visited the emergency operations center in Raleigh days after the storm. Vice President Kamala Harris visited North Carolina in early October. Her visit was to Charlotte rather than the hardest-hit mountain counties.
U.S. Rep. Edwards, a Republican whose district covers Western North Carolina, thanked Trump for visiting, saying he did more than a “flyover” — an apparent reference to Biden’s flight in the days after the storm. N.C. House Speaker Moore said he hasn’t heard from the Biden administration since the storm but has heard from Trump.
Trump said he’s dispersed $7 million of $8 million raised via a GoFundMe he started after the storm. He said charities that received money include Samaritan’s Purse. He asked for local input on where the rest of the money should go.
Trump thanks NC veteran for creating airbase
11:57 a.m. Trump thanked military veteran Adam Smith for his work to set-up a makeshift airbase where helicopters bringing aid could land.
Smith presented Trump with a small wooden cross and said communities like his are afraid they’ll be forgotten. He thanked Trump for visiting Swannanoa to highlight the impacts of the storm.
“We’re grateful for that,” Smith said.
Trump also introduced two local business owners whose properties were damaged by the storm. One said a prayer for Trump.
“It’s incredible, and I appreciate it,” Trump said.
Trump arrives in Western NC
11:47 a.m. The former president exited a black SUV and was greeted by officials, including state House Speaker Moore and Rep. Edwards.
Trump said he was struck by the storm damage he saw as he arrived in Swannanoa.
“I’m with you, and the American people will continue to be with you all the way,” he said.
Trump said the Biden administration’s response to the storm was “not good” and said he would handle disaster relief better if reelected. He thanked first responders and nonprofits who took action in the wake of Helene.
“We have seen the extraordinary love that binds us as Americans,” he said.
He repeated his claims that the federal government’s response was slow, saying other groups had to step in.
Trump visiting Swannanoa
10:47 a.m. In Swannanoa, where Trump is scheduled to speak about noon, the damage from Helene is still evident almost a month after the storm hit.
Debris, including washed-out cars and an uprooted red shed, were strewn near behind where Trump will speak, in front of an auto body shop on U.S. 70.
A little ways down the road, broken pews sat in piles outside the Swannanoa Free Will Baptist Church.
Democrats target Trump Helene conspiracies, Mark Robinson support
Democrats preempted Trump’s visit Monday by saying he’s “spread disinformation and lies that put recovery workers at risk.”
Among the Trump claims: that Democrats in Washington and Gov. Roy Cooper are blocking people and money from helping Helene victims. Cooper called that “a flat out lie.” Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers also called that “a 100% false statement” in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Canton is a town west of Asheville in Haywood County.
Trump and billionaire businessman Elon Musk, who’s supporting Trump in the 2024 election, also claimed FEMA diverted disaster relief funds to people who are living in the country without legal authorization. But those claims conflate FEMA’s disaster fund with other pots of money the agency has.
In 2019, Trump pulled money from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund to pay for immigration detention space and temporary hearing locations for asylum seekers, NBC News reported.
“Donald Trump gutted FEMA and blocked disaster relief funding as president and continues to put politics over getting people the help they need,” said Dory MacMillan, communications director for Democrat Kamala Harris’ North Carolina campaign. “As North Carolinians work to recover in the aftermath of Helene, a second Trump term would be even worse – his Project 2025 agenda would further slash disaster funding and make it harder for the government to respond to disasters.”
Separately, the Democratic National Convention said it purchased billboard space near the Interstate 85 interchange with Interstate 77 in Charlotte. The billboards point out Trump’s support for Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.
“Donald Trump and Mark Robinson are two MAGA extremists in a pod. Both are anti-choice radicals, election deniers, and have a long and disturbing history of violent and dangerous rhetoric,” said DNC spokesperson Stephanie Justice. “North Carolinians deserve better. Make no mistake: Trump has repeatedly embraced and tied himself to Robinson.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2024 at 9:59 AM with the headline "In NC tour, Trump targets FEMA, rallies Christians, says votes could ‘save America’."
