ASHEBORO, NC (AP) – Donald Trump is holding his first outdoor rally since narrowly escaping an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania last month.
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 stage.
Storage containers are stacked around the perimeter of the space to create additional walls and block sight lines. Snipers are positioned on the rooftops of the venue, where vintage airplanes sit behind a podium and a large American flag is hung from cranes.
The event is part of Trump’s week-long series of counter-programs for the Democratic National Convention, which is underway in Chicago. Allies have urged him to focus on policy rather than personal attacks as he struggles to adjust to running against Vice President Kamala Harris after the fall of President Joe Biden.
Tuesday night’s convention featured a double dose of Obama firepower as the former president and former first lady attacked Trump, repeatedly calling him names.
“His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated and successful people who happen to be black,” Michelle Obama said of Trump in a rousing speech.
He also referred to a comment he made in a June debate in which he asked, “Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s applying for right now might just be one of those ‘black jobs’?”
Barack Obama mocked Trump’s obsession with the size of his crowd, calling Trump “a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped complaining about his problems since he rode the golden escalator nine years ago.”
“It’s been constant complaints and complaints that have actually gotten worse now that he’s afraid he’s going to lose to Kamala,” the former president said.
Trump will be joined on Wednesday by his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance. He has spent the week visiting battleground states in the busiest week of campaigning since the Republican primary.
The importance of North Carolina in this year’s election reflects that, and the trip is Trump’s second after the state just last week. Last Wednesday, he appeared in Asheville, North Carolina, giving a speech on the economy.
Trump won North Carolina by a comfortable margin in 2016. The state delivered the former president’s closest statewide margin of victory four years ago and is seen as a key battleground again in 2024.
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Colvin reports from New York.
