Trump Revives Willie Horton Ad at North Carolina Rally for Whatley
Trump used the Willie Horton ad to attack Roy Cooper and frame crime as a central issue in the Senate race, while a mug-shot display drew criticism.
- On Wednesday, President Donald Trump revived a 1988 Willie Horton campaign ad during a rally at Gastonia Municipal Airport to attack Democratic former Governor Roy Cooper as soft on crime.
- Trump referenced the August 22, 2025, killing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte commuter train to justify his rhetoric, citing Decarlos Brown Jr., who faced murder charges and had 14 prior cases in Mecklenburg County.
- Although Trump claimed Cooper cut deals with "radical activists" to release "some of the worst criminals," state corrections officials stated Brown was not released early or under Cooper's COVID-era prisoner-release settlement.
- Political strategists suggest the campaign ploy aims to energize Republican voters for November midterms; Emory University political scientist Andra Gillespie said Trump is "tapping into the anger to remind Republican voters of what he thinks their first principles are."
- Republicans face pressure to win swayable voters as Democrats push for Senate control in November midterms, while 2024 FBI crime data shows North Carolina ranked 19th for statewide violent-crime rates in a 50-state comparison.
64 Articles
64 Articles
Republicans are trying to bury Roy Cooper on crime. Will it work?
In President Donald Trump’s get-out-the-vote message to North Carolinians this week, he hammered Democratic Senate nominee Roy Cooper over his crime record during his two-term tenure as governor. It’s become a recurring theme for Republicans in the North Carolina Senate race, who are hoping to hold on to the battleground seat against one of the […]
The Independent
The Independent (US)Trump reaches back to notorious Willie Horton ad in explosive midterm attack
As President Donald Trump tries to convince voters that Democrats have let crime run amok, he’s digging into the country’s political past
Trump refers to Black man from racially offensive 1988 campaign ad while stumping in North Carolina - Regional Media News
As President Donald Trump tries to convince voters that Democrats have let crime run amok, he's digging into the country's political past to reference one of the most controversial campaign advertisements that relied heavily on racist tropes. During a campaign stop Wednesday in Gastonia, North [...]
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