President Trump spent nearly two hours on stage Tuesday at a midterm rally in North Carolina, highlighting the demanding schedule he has adopted to help Republicans win in November.
Trump said his fast-paced campaign tour, intended to help the GOP retain control of Congress, marks a departure from his previous approach to midterm elections. He also stressed that the effort has required sustained work.
“I’m doing something different. I’m working like a dog,” Trump told supporters at the rally in Greenville.
“When I wasn’t running, I didn’t really campaign,” Trump said. “I let other people campaign. I figured that’s it. What did I know?”
With Republican candidates trailing or facing close contests in several traditionally conservative states, Trump announced last month that he planned to visit 35 battleground congressional districts before the midterm elections.
The president has made 17 campaign appearances since the GOP’s two-day midterm convention in Dallas last month.
“I’ve done like 10 rallies in about eight days,” Trump said, adding that he is scheduled to return to North Carolina for another appearance before Election Day.
“We have like 15 days [before Election Day], and I’m doing about 18 rallies,” he said. “That’s work.”
Trump spoke for roughly one hour and 52 minutes, making the Greenville event one of the longest rallies of the current election cycle and in recent memory.
The president invited GOP Senate candidate Michael Whatley and several other Republican candidates running in North Carolina to join him on stage and deliver brief remarks.
Whatley is seeking to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis but trails his Democratic rival, former Gov. Roy Cooper, by nearly 10 percentage points in the latest RealClearPolitics polling average.
Trump carried North Carolina by about 3 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.
NASCAR legend Richard Petty also appeared on stage, comparing the upcoming elections to a “big race.”
“This is the best driver we’ve ever had,” Petty said of Trump. “So what we’ve got to do is, you all have got to pick out the best pit crew … and that’s what all this is about.
“Let’s get out and get the very best pit crew we can for the best driver.”
