President Donald Trump gave brief remarks Wednesday in Wilmington, North Carolina - a key swing state - designating the city as the first ...
President Donald Trump gave brief remarks Wednesday in Wilmington, North Carolina - a key swing state - designating the city as the first American World War II Heritage City.
At the southern stop, he brought back up his defense of keeping statues - including Confederate monuments - in place.
'We’re not ashamed in America. We’re not ashamed of anything,' Trump said.
'I signed a very important edict recently. Three months ago they were ripping down statues. I said you can rip them down but you’re going to serve 10 years in jail if you do. And as soon as I did that, incredibly you haven’t heard about statues coming down, have you? Statues or monuments, he continued.
'But we’re not ashamed of our country, We’re proud of our country,' he added.
Trump spoke in front of the Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington, North Carolina, on September 2, 2020, the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII
'We’re not ashamed in America. We’re not ashamed of anything,' President Donald Trump said on a trip to North Carolina
As he talked about the U.S.'s fight against fascism, he continued to go after rioters in cities who took to the streets in the aftermath of the shooting of Jacob Blake.
'American warriors did not defeat fascism and oppression overseas only to watch our freedoms be trampled by violent mobs here at home,' he said.
And when he joked about a World War II veteran's age who was in the audience, he also used the opportunity to knock his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
'I promised him I would not tell that he's 97 years old,' Trump said. 'I'll tell you he's 100 per cent sharp ... I know a 78-year-old who's not so sharp,' the president added.
Biden is 77 years old.
Trump's remarks at the battleship were quick, as he tried to give Wilmington its distinction before a storm rolled through. Claps of thunder interrupted his remarks.
'I want to thank you for being so nice to me,' Trump told the crowd, which included Hershel 'Woody' Williams, a medal of honor recipient who flew down from Washington, D.C. on Air Force One. He called it a 'tremendous honor' to give the distinction to Wilmington.
The move marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the second World War.
The ship provided a patriotic backdrop while Trump railed against 'violent mobs' but he had to rush through remarks as a storm approached
'American warriors did not defeat fascism and oppression overseas only to watch our freedoms be trampled by violent mobs here at home,' said Trump, a day after visiting Kenosha, Wisconsin
President Trump spent significant time greeting a crowd of hundreds at the Wilmington airport, going up and down the line and addressing them twice
Battleship North Carolina was the lead ship of the North Carolina battleships that were constructed in that era and saw action during World War II and also particpated in 'Operation Magic Carpet,' which brought American servicemembers home.
On Monday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told a reporter not to read too much into the fact that a city in North Carolina, which Trump needs to win the 2020 election, was selected.
'No, there's not a political purpose in this visit. This president is visiting to commemorate a great site in American history,' she said.
But Trump spent significant time greeting supporters at the Wilmington airport, speaking twice and going up and down the line.
'We're rounding the curve on the China virus, vaccines are happening, therapeutics are happening,' he told the crowd, who weren't social distancing, with very few in masks.
His daughter-in-law Lara and her parents greeted Trump on the tarmac and he boasted to the crowd that his granddaughter was named 'Carolina,' after Lara Trump's home state.
The crowd cheered.
He also said he planned to win all the southern states plus New Hampshire and Minnesota.
'Minnesota looks really good,' Trump said. 'It hasn't been won since 1972.'
'It's a disgrace what's happening up there,' he continued, an apparent reference to the protests and unrest that happened following the Memorial Day death of George Floyd.
He then brought up Kenosha, Wisconsin, where Jacob Blake was shot.
'We straightened up that mess,' he said. 'What a horrible situation.'
As he arrived, Trump also greeted Sen. Thom Tillis, who's in a tough political fight against Democrat Cal Cunningham to retain his seat.
Tillis got in hot water Thursday for removing his mask at the president's Republican National Convention speech at the White House after uploading a picture to social media of him wearing it.
On Wednesday, Tillis took off his mask and then had it in his hand as the president arrived.
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