Trump to campaign for Senate candidate Whatley in North Carolina

by · UPI

Dec. 19 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to eastern North Carolina on Friday to speak at a campaign event for Senate candidate Michael Whatley, the White House said.

Trump is expected to speak around 6 p.m. EST at the Rocky Mount Events Center, about 50 miles northeast of Raleigh.

"I'm excited to welcome President @realDonaldTrump to Rocky Mount this Friday," Whatley posted on X.

"Let's give him the North Carolina welcome he deserves."

Related

Whatley vacated his seat as chairman of the Republican National Committee earlier this year to run for the U.S. Senate to replace Sen. Thom Tillis, who announced in June that he won't seek re-election.

Whatley is running in the Republican primary against Elizabeth Temple, Donald Mitchell Brown Jr., Margot Dupre and Michele Morrow. In the Democratic primary are former Gov. Roy Cooper, Daryl Farrow and Marcus Williams, WGHP-TV in Greensboro, reported.

WRAL-TV in Raleigh described Rocky Mount as economically struggling. Trump's visit there comes two days after he touted his work on the economy in a primetime speech.

He blamed the Biden administration for the economic "mess" he inherited.

"And I'm fixing it," Trump said. "America is trending towards a historic economic boom.

A Fox News poll released Wednesday showed 72% of Americans have a negative view of the U.S. economy, while 11% thing their situation is improving. A NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released this week found similar results, with 36% of respondents approving of Trump's handling of the economy.

A High Point University poll from November showed 60% of North Carolina voters disapprove of how Trump is handling inflation, while 52% disapprove of his views on tariffs.

This week in Washington

President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order reclassifying marijuana from a schedule I to a schedule III controlled substance in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo