Trump to visit North Carolina to address the Fraternal Order of Police in Charlotte, organization announces
Matthew Sockol
Fox 8 WGHP
September 1, 2024
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WNCN) — Former president Donald Trump will be in North Carolina next week to address the National Board of the Fraternal Order of Police in Charlotte.
Patrick Yoes, the FOP national president, announced on Friday that Trump accepted their invitation to appear at the board’s fall meeting on Sept. 6.
“President Trump led our nation admirably through some very tough times,” Yoes said in a statement. “He provided our nation with strong, effective leadership during his first term. Now that he is seeking election to a second term, we think it’s important to have him join us to talk about all of the issues facing our profession.”
“We are eager to see President Trump again after meeting with him at Mar-A-Lago earlier this year,” Yoes continued in his statement. “He was a great friend to the FOP while president and we look forward to hearing from him and having him hear from us on the issues important to the rank-and-file officers the FOP represents.”
The Harris-Walz campaign issued a statement in response to Trump’s visit, noting that the visit was announced after Trump voiced support of a near-total abortion ban in Florida.
“Tonight, Donald Trump announced his plans to come to North Carolina just hours after endorsing his home state’s extreme abortion ban that applies before many women even know they are pregnant,” the statement reads. “Trump is focused on power and he will use his Project 2025 agenda to ban abortion in every state, monitor women’s pregnancies, and threaten access to critical fertility treatments. Women in this state are not going back and North Carolinians are ready to reject Trump in November.”
North Carolina is among the states expected to decide the 2024 presidential election. Trump last visited the Tar Heel State on Aug. 21 when he and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, spoke about national security at the North Carolina Aviation Museum & Hall of Fame in Asheboro.
The former president’s visit will come a week after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, visited Raleigh and met with campaign staffers.
Polls show a tight race in North Carolina between the Harris-Walz ticket and the Trump-Vance ticket. A poll from CBS 17/Emerson College/The Hill shows Trump leading Harris by one point, 49% to 48%, with 3% of voters undecided.
A Democratic presidential candidate has not won North Carolina since Barack Obama in 2008. Trump won North Carolina by 1.35% in 2020, the smallest margin among the states he carried.