Crowds began lining up to see the former president speak at 5 a.m. Wednesday.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Former President Donald Trump was in Charlotte Wednesday for a campaign rally at Bojangles Coliseum. The event came just one day after the director of the Secret Service resigned in the aftermath of the assassination attempt against Trump.
Last Thursday, the last night of the Republican National Convention, Trump formally accepted the Republican nomination for president and gave a lengthy speech, the longest speech any presidential nominee has given at a party convention. On the heels of the RNC, Trump is hoping to keep up the momentum that came out of the days-long event.
The RNC was held just a few days after Trump was the apparent target of an assassination attempt when shots were fired at a campaign rally in Butler Pennsylvania on Sat., July 13. The shooting killed a former fire chief, who was in attendance at the rally and died shielding his family from bullets.
Trump’s visit on Wednesday comes less than a week after Vice President Kamala Harris made her seventh visit to NC this year at a campaign stop in Fayetteville, NC on Thursday. The VP had just visited Greensboro the week before.
Before 5 a.m., crowds of supporters were already gathering outside Bojangles Coliseum ahead of Trump’s rally. WCNC Charlotte’s Richard DeVayne spoke to one supporter who was present at the Pennsylvania rally when the assassination attempt against Trump took place.
“I traveled from North Carolina up to Butler, got up there, got in a really good spot — was right behind President Trump when he went to go speak,” Renee White said. “So when the shot that everybody heard around the world came, I was right there.”
She said Charlotte’s rally would be her 35th Trump rally.
The last time the former president visited North Carolina was in May when he attended the Coca-Cola 600 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. That visit marked the first time a president has attended a race at the speedway.
Both campaigns are pouring resources into North Carolina and other swing states ahead of the November election.
The campaign rally will be held on Wed., July 24 at Bojangles Coliseum. The doors opened at 2 p.m. and Trump spoke for just under two hours, starting at 6 p.m.
Trump’s visit impacted traffic in Charlotte for much of Wednesday. The event began during rush hour, but traffic delays happened for hours before and after the rally, not just at Bojangles Coliseum but also around the airport.
Drivers saw major delays Wednesday afternoon and evening as Trump arrived in Charlotte and headed to Bojangles Coliseum.
