Former President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at the J.S. Dorton Arena on November 04, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump, in his final North Carolina rally of the 2024 campaign on Monday morning, predicted that he would emerge victorious in the state as he rallied supporters on the eve of the election.
“North Carolina’s reliable for me,” Trump said. “Never lost. And I don’t think we’re going to start now.”
Trump returned to Dorton Arena in Raleigh for his final event in the Tar Heel State — the same place he held a rally before the election in 2016. Thousands filtered into the fairgrounds venue, but dozens of rows of seats remained unfilled as he took the stage.
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North Carolina has appeared increasingly often on Trump’s campaign schedule in the final weeks of the campaign — culminating in a pre-election weekend torrent of rallies.
On Saturday, the 78-year-old spoke in Gastonia and Greensboro; and in Kinston on Sunday, he projected confidence in his chances, while also briefly and mistakenly referring to a Pennsylvania Senate candidate during his remarks.
The Harris campaign has also blanketed the state in recent days. The vice president, spoke in Charlotte on Saturday and Raleigh last Wednesday, while her surrogates — including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — have been an almost constant presence.
“It’s ours to lose,” Trump told supporters, his voice hoarse. “If we get everybody out and vote, there’s not a thing they can do.”
Trump pledged Monday to “immediately” impose a new 25% tariff on Mexican imported goods unless they halt “criminals and drugs coming into the country” — an extension of new tariffs he’s already pledged on China and other nations if elected.
A 2024 Nobel Prize-winning economist on Monday called Trump’s tax and tariff plan ‘a really bad idea.’ Others have also warned the plan would only result in greater inflation and retaliatory tariffs.
Trump focused the bulk of his remarks on immigration, the southern border and the economy, while attacking Harris as a “low IQ individual.”
“This will be our final moment,” Trump said at the end of his speech, pointing out that it may be his last rally in North Carolina.
He will depart North Carolina this afternoon for two rallies in Pennsylvania and a final event in Michigan this evening.
North Carolina appears primed for a photo finish when results begin rolling in Tuesday evening.
FiveThirtyEight’s polling average has Trump leading by just 1.2 percentage points; a New York Times/Siena poll on Sunday found Harris leading by 2 percentage points, 48% to Trump’s 46%. Trump won the state by 1.3 percentage points in 2020.
More than 4 million North Carolinians have already cast their ballots during early voting — a record total.
By party registration, the early vote has broken narrowly for Republicans, with 33.3% coming from GOP voters and 32.4% from Democrats. The plurality of North Carolina early voters — 33.6% — are unaffiliated.
“We’ve got a beautiful lead right now in early voting,” Trump said.
Among those who spoke ahead of Trump on Monday were U.S. Sen. Ted Budd and U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, who is running for attorney general. Absent again was Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor whose campaign has been effectively abandoned by Republicans at the state and national level.
Trump previously said he’s “not familiar with the state of the race right now” when asked if he still endorsed Robinson. Trump had backed the lieutenant governor prior to a CNN report linking him to explicit sexual and racist comments online.
Robinson on Sunday told reporters he had spoken to Trump, though he didn’t say when or where.
“His absolute orders would be keep fighting, because he understands exactly what I’m going through, Robinson said. “He’s been through it several times himself.”
Polling in the governor’s race has shown Robinson trailing Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein by a significant margin. The Times/Siena poll found Stein leading, 55% to Robinson’s 34%.
Ahead of Trump’s remarks, a spokesperson for the North Carolina Democratic campaign said the former president was “scrambling because North Carolinians across the state are rejecting his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”
Gov. Roy Cooper and First Lady Jill Biden are set to join the Harris-Walz campaign today to launch canvassing efforts in Fayetteville, Raleigh, Carrboro and Durham.
What attendees said about Trump, Robinson just ahead of Election Day
Sharon Pearce, a Trump supporter since his first campaign in 2016, told NC Newsline she feels “more energy” from supporters than she did at Trump’s rally at the arena eight years ago.
“I believe America is going to be in a better place, and I believe this election will be a big part of that,” Pearce said. “I’m here to honor a man who was willing to take a bullet for us.”
Pearce said she voted early for both Trump and Robinson. She dismissed controversies and condemnations against the lieutenant governor as “a lot of slander.”
Chris Killela of Raleigh, who attended Monday’s rally, already voted early but wanted to see the former president in person.
“I just feel like he respects his constituents,” Killela said. “I don’t get that feeling from the other side. Some of the things lately that have come out of their mouths is just ridiculous.”
Melissa Duncan, 38, drove down to Raleigh from Virginia for her third Trump rally of the election cycle. She brought her 18-year-old son, a first-time Trump voter.
Duncan said she almost got an abortion when she was younger, but was grateful she didn’t. The issue remains top-of-mind for her in today’s politics.
“They think they’re helping these young girls, but then they get 38 years old, and decide they want to have a baby now but can’t,” she said.
First-time rallygoer Jacob Williams, from Granville County, attended while donning a shirt that read “Jesus is my savior, Trump is my president.”
“The smart, everyday American is going to vote Trump,” Williams said. “And if he doesn’t win, I do say it’s rigged.”
Williams said he plans to vote for Robinson as well. “I’m sure whatever he said ain’t even nearly as bad as whatever — you don’t know what the Democratic person said, you don’t know what they’ve done.”
NC Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NC Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Rob Schofield for questions: info@ncnewsline.com. Follow NC Newsline on Facebook and X.
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