On Saturday evening at 7 p.m. Eastern Time, former President Donald Trump will deliver a speech at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina. Epoch Times and New Tang Dynasty will be broadcasting the event live with simultaneous Chinese translation.
Local media report that the 2024 presidential candidate and former President Trump is expected to arrive in Wilmington on Saturday. Trump’s last visit to this port city was in 2022 when thousands of people attended his “Save America” rally.
Trump’s appearance in Wilmington highlights the state of North Carolina as a battleground state. In the 2020 election, Trump won North Carolina with a 1.3-point margin. However, in the same year, Democratic Governor Roy Cooper won re-election by a 4.5-point margin, solidifying North Carolina’s status as a swing state.
President Biden and Vice President Harris have already started making regular visits to the state. On March 26th, they visited Raleigh, the state capital of North Carolina. The Biden-Harris campaign team announced plans to open 10 offices across the state and establish a headquarters in Raleigh, aiming to turn North Carolina blue in November.
Although North Carolina hasn’t voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 2008, both the Trump and Biden campaigns see North Carolina as a key swing state in the 2024 election.
While Trump visits Wilmington this year, his criminal trial in New York is starting on Monday. Facing charges related to hush money payments, Trump has spent most of this week in a Manhattan courthouse.
According to the event webpage, the Wilmington rally will take place at the Aviation Center inside the Wilmington International Airport located at 1830 Aviation Blvd. The Aviation Center is expected to open at 3 p.m. on Saturday, with the event scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Tickets can be obtained for free through the event webpage.
Nevin Carr, the Republican Party chairman of New Hanover County, stated that around 60 Republican volunteers from the county will attend the event. As of Tuesday, Carr had not estimated the expected number of attendees at the rally. He pointed out that the event is organized by the Trump campaign team, not by the New Hanover County Republican Party.