Former President Donald Trump courted religious voters Monday during a campaign swing through North Carolina, telling Christian conservatives he thinks that God is on his side.
Mr. Trump urged those voters nationwide to “stand up and save your country.”
“Christian voters need to turn out in the largest numbers ever,” Mr. Trump said.
With just two weeks before Election Day, Mr. Trump spent the day surveying storm damage in Swannanoa before rallying voters in Greenville and attending the religious campaign stop in Concord.
He was joined by his son Eric Trump, the Rev. Franklin Graham, and Ben Carson, who served in his administration as secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Mr. Trump is working to shore up his support in a state he won in 2016 and 2020.
He appeared well-positioned for victory in the state before President Biden dropped out of the race, and Ms. Harris took his place. Polls show the race is a dead heat.
Mr. Trump said there is too much at stake for the religious community to stay on the sideline, warning Ms. Harris wants to pack the Supreme Court with liberal justices, allow illegal immigrants to flood into the country, allow men to play in women’s sports, and promote sex changes in schools.
“We love Christians, we welcome believers, and we embrace followers of Jesus,” Mr. Trump said of his campaign.
“As I look back at my life’s journey and events, I now recognize that it has been the hand of God leading me to where I am today,” Mr. Trump said, sparking applause from the pastor-heavy crowd.
Mr. Trump said his “faith took on new meaning” after the July 13 assassination attempt on him in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“I was knocked to the ground essentially by what seemed like a supernatural hand, and I would like to think God saved me for a purpose, and that is to make our country greater than ever before,” he explained.
He highlighted how Ms. Harris recently told Christian protesters that they were “at the wrong rally” when they interrupted her rally with shouts of “Jesus is Lord!” Ms. Harris telling the two Christians to go to the Trump rally drew mocking laughter from her audience.
“At Trump rallies, we don’t tell Christians to get lost; we tell Christians to get out and vote,” Mr. Trump said.
“She is very destructive to religion, she is very destructive to Christianity and very destruction to evangelicals and the Catholic Church,” Mr. Trump said. “Let me put it this way; she is your worst nightmare.”
Earlier in the day, Mr. Trump sent a clear message to voters in the state’s western region, which was hit hardest by Hurricane Helene: “I am with you.”
Mr. Trump has been trying to tap into the frustration some North Carolina voters have over the federal response to the hurricane, which displaced thousands, left nearly 100 people dead in the state, and fueled all sorts of speculation over how the fallout could influence voter turnout in the battleground state.
“In the wake of this horrible storm, many Americans in this region felt helpless and abandoned and left behind by their government, and yet in North Carolina’s hour of desperation, the American people answered the call — much more so than your federal government, unfortunately,” Mr. Trump said.
“I think it is a disgrace what happened with FEMA, what’s happened with their rescue effort,” he said. “Their rescue effort was almost nonexistent.”
The Biden-Harris administration has defended the Federal Emergency Management Agency and accused Mr. Trump and his allies of spreading lies that have distracted from the recovery effort and threatened to harm the families who need assistance.
Mr. Trump said he supports Congress returning early to pass additional aid for hurricane victims and vowed to strengthen manufacturing and stop the flow of migrants coming across the southern border illegally.
He also warned that Ms. Harris has proven she will be the same as Mr. Biden.
“This election is a choice of whether we have four more years of incompetence, stupidity, and failure and disaster or whether we will begin the four greatest years in the history of our country,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump zeroed in on the issue of immigration, describing it as the biggest challenge facing the nation.
He questioned why the Biden-Harris administration has been so reluctant to take a more rigid stand against illegal immigration and do more to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
“You’re either stupid, you hate our country, or they’re trying to get them to vote,” the former president said. “It’s probably the third.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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