Key facts
- Donald Trump campaigned in North Carolina on Wednesday to support Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley.
- Trump urged voters to "pretend I’m on the ticket" and "crush the communists".
- Whatley is running against former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper in a race that could decide the balance of power in the Senate.
- Trump invoked the murder of Iryna Zarutska and falsely claimed Roy Cooper released the accused killer from prison.
- Trump compared his attack on Cooper to the "Willie Horton" ad used in the 1988 presidential campaign.
Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail on Wednesday, imploring North Carolina voters to "pretend I’m on the ticket" and "crush the communists" in the November elections at a rally in support of the Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley. Republicans hope to leverage Trump's loyal following to bolster the party's prospects in a challenging midterm landscape. The rally in Gastonia aimed to energize Republican voters behind Whatley, who is challenging former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper for the seat vacated by retiring Republican Senator Thom Tillis. Democrats view this race as a key opportunity to flip a Senate seat in a crucial battleground state. Trump sought to frame the contest as a referendum on Cooper's governorship, focusing on issues of "safety" and "bad management." He invoked the murder of Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, and falsely claimed that Cooper had released the accused killer from prison. Trump explicitly compared his campaign tactics against Cooper to the racially charged "Willie Horton" ad used by George H.W. Bush in 1988. Trump praised Whatley as a "candidate of law and order" and "one of the greatest men I ever worked with in government." Whatley, in turn, embraced Trump as the "greatest president of our lifetime." Ahead of the rally, local Democrats criticized Whatley for supporting Trump's agenda, particularly concerning economic issues like rising prices.