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President Trump stood on stage for nearly two hours Tuesday at a midterm rally in North Carolina, where he touted the grueling schedule he’s keeping to get Republicans elected in November.
Trump noted his whirlwind tour aimed at helping the GOP maintain control of Congress differs from how he’s previously approached midterm elections – and emphasized that it’s hard work.
“I’m doing something different. I’m working like a dog,” he told rally-goers in Greenville.
“When I wasn’t running, I didn’t really campaign,” Trump explained. “I let other people campaign. I figured that’s it. What did I know?”
However, with Republican candidates trailing or locked in tight races in several red states, Trump outlined plans last month to hit 35 battleground districts before the midterms.
The president has made 17 campaign stops since the GOP’s two-day midterm convention in Dallas last month.
“I’ve done like 10 rallies in about eight days,” Trump said, revealing that he’s scheduled to make another appearance in North Carolina before Election Day.
“We have like 15 days [before Election Day] and I’m doing about 18 rallies,” he continued. “That’s work.”
The president held the podium for roughly 1 hour and 52 minutes, making his appearance in Greenville one of the lengthiest of the cycle and in recent memory.
Trump invited GOP Senate hopeful Michael Whatley and several other down-ballot Republican candidates in the Tar Heel State up on stage to deliver brief remarks.
Whatley, who is running to replace retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, trails his Democratic opponent, former Gov. Roy Cooper, by nearly 10 percentage points in the latest RealClearPolitics average of polls.
Trump won the state in the 2024 presidential election by about 3 percentage points.
The president also invited NASCAR legend Richard Petty up on stage to speak, who compared 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.”