Former President Donald Trump speaks Wednesday at the North Carolina Aviation Museum & Hall of Fame in Asheboro. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
ASHEBORO — At his first outdoor rally since last month’s attempted assassination, Donald Trump spoke from behind bulletproof glass Wednesday in North Carolina at an event focused on national security. On politics, he called his predecessor Barack Obama “nasty” for his comments the night before at the Democratic National Convention.
Trump blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the deadly Afghanistan withdrawal and for wars in Ukraine and the Middle East while returning repeatedly in his remarks to the Democratic gathering in Chicago, where speaker after speaker has assailed Trump as a threat to the country should he return to the White House.
The former president, now the GOP nominee, asked the crowd gathered at the North Carolina Aviation Museum & Hall of Fame whether they had seen the speeches given Tuesday by former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.
“He was taking shots at your president. And so was Michelle. You know, they always say, ‘Sir, please stick to policy. Don’t get personal.’ And yet they’re getting personal all night long, these people,” he said, asking: “Do I still have to stick to policy?”
Trump, who is facing Harris in the November election after Biden stepped aside, spoke from behind a podium surrounded by panes of bulletproof glass that formed a protective wall across the stage — part of ramped-up security measures aimed at keeping him safe after the attack by a Pennsylvania gunman on July 13.
Storage containers were stacked around the perimeter to create additional walls and block sight lines. Snipers were positioned on roofs at the venue, where old aircraft were sitting behind the podium and a large American flag was suspended from cranes.
The event, billed as focused on national security issues, was part of Trump’s weeklong series of counterprogramming to the Democratic National Convention, which is underway in Chicago. Allies have been urging him to focus on policy instead of personal attacks against Harris as he struggles to adjust to Biden’s departure from the race.
The second night of the Democrats’ convention Tuesday was a highly energized affair that featured speeches from both Obamas, who went after Trump in particularly biting terms.
“His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black,” Michelle Obama said.
Barack Obama mocked Trump’s obsession with his crowd sizes and called Trump “a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.”
“It’s been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that’s actually gotten worse now that he’s afraid of losing to Kamala,” the former president said.
After mentioning the Obamas early on in his speech, Trump came back around to the former president’s comments.
“He was very nasty last night,” Trump said. “I try and be nice to people, you know. But it’s a little tough when they get personal.”
He then polled the crowd on whether he should listen to advisers who he said have told him, “Please, sir, don’t get personal. Talk about policy.”
“Should I get personal or should I not get personal?” he asked. The crowd overwhelmingly chose the former.
Trump also mocked the convention and its frequent references to him, calling at a “charade.”
In his remarks, Trump derided Harris as “the most radical left person ever to run for high political office in our country,” and said the woman he now calls “Comrade Kamala” will destroy the country if she is elected to the White House.
While Trump has acknowledged the race is closer than before Biden dropped out, his aides believe that Harris remains relatively unknown and that efforts to highlight her past statements and the positions she took in previous races will turn off swing voters after her honeymoon period ends.
He repeatedly referenced the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, and said that, if he wins, he will ask for the resignation of every senior military official who was involved.
