Former President Donald Trump is expected to make a campaign stop in North Carolina on Saturday—his first rally since his New York hush money trial started.
Trump and President Joe Biden have clinched the nominations of the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively, with each having won a majority of the state primary contests as they seek reelection this year to a second term. However, a 2020 rematch is an unpopular one, with voters routinely telling pollsters that they believe that neither one should be seeking another term for various reasons. Hypothetical general election match-ups have generally shown the two neck-and-neck, on average.
On Saturday, Trump is scheduled to speak at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, a crucial battleground state in the 2024 election, as he previously won the state in 2020.
The event is being held at the Tarmac at the Aero Center at Wilmington Airport. While doors open for attendees at 3 p.m., the former president is not expected to address the crowd until about 7 p.m. Those unable to attend in person can live stream the event from the Right Side Broadcasting Network’s (RSBN) website with coverage starting at 3 p.m.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s campaign via email for comment.
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North Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson, who is currently the state’s lieutenant governor, is also scheduled to speak at the rally. While Trump is in North Carolina he is also scheduled to fundraise with Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Michael Whatley, who was previously the North Carolina Republican Party’s chairman, as well as Trump’s daughter-in-law and RNC co-chair Lara Trump.
This is Trump’s first campaign rally since his New York criminal trial started earlier this week as the final jurors were seated on Friday.
On Monday, Trump became the first former president in U.S. history to stand trial in a criminal case. Following an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, Trump was indicted in March 2023 on charges of falsifying business records relating to hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels alleges that she had an affair with Trump in 2006, which he has denied. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and said the case against him is politically motivated.
Opening statements in the trial are set to begin on Monday.
This is not the first time Trump was in North Carolina as the former president made a previous campaign stop in early March at the Greensboro Coliseum for his “Get Out the Vote” rally.
Meanwhile, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have also started making regular trips to the state. Both were in Raleigh late last month and Harris was back in North Carolina on April 4 for a speech in Charlotte.
North Carolina has not voted for a Democrat for president since 2008, where former President Barack Obama won the state.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.