Former president Donald Trump was in Asheville yesterday to deliver remarks on the economy as he woos North Carolina voters in his 2024 White House bid. But Trump focused more on his Democratic rival than on his own policy proposals.
Kicking off his remarks in Asheville’s Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, Trump told the crowd of more than 2,000 people that they weren’t about to hear his usual campaign speech.
“Now, this is a little bit different day, because this isn’t a rally. This is – we’re talking about a thing called the economy,” he said.
Across the country, voters identify the economy as a top issue in this year’s election. At the Asheville event, Trump was flanked onstage by two signs, “No Tax on Social Security” and “No Tax on Tips,” suggesting that he planned to focus on two of Asheville’s largest constituencies: senior citizens and service industry workers.
“So we’re doing this as a intellectual speech. You’re all intellectuals today,” the former president and current candidate said.
But despite the promises to talk about the economy, the former president spent much of the next hour launching a series of personal attacks against his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, who is delivering an economic speech of her own in Raleigh tomorrow.
He said, “When Kamala lays out her fake economic plan this week – it will probably be a copy of my plan, because basically, that’s what she does.”
Both Trump and Harris support eliminating taxes on tips, a proposal that would require congressional approval. Trump has also called for eliminating taxes on Social Security, a move that some experts say would be catastrophic for the program’s future.
When Trump did focus on his own agenda in yesterday’s speech, he spoke in broad terms about what the country would look like under a second Trump presidency.
“Everyone will prosper. Every family will thrive. And every day will be filled with opportunity, hope and joy," he said, "But for that to happen, we must never let Kamala Harris get anywhere near the White House.”
In preparation for the Trump campaign rally, the city designated three separate areas for counter-protesters. The demonstration zones were a first for the city and were a response to violence during a 2016 Trump rally.
Asheville police introduced the zones with a goal of helping people avoid conflict, but the spaces remained mostly empty yesterday afternoon. Instead, about two dozen anti-Trump protesters gathered across the street from thousands of Trump supporters lined up outside of the Thomas Wolfe auditorium. The protesters pressed against a tall chain link fence set up to keep the groups apart.
Bob Carson was there with his wife Sandy, and he said, “I think it's a real mistake to try to separate the factions…because it's necessary to be here to see exactly what the opponents look like. They should see us and we should see them and hopefully learn something.”
The group of protesters were mostly older people who walked down from the nearest city designated demonstration area which was about 100 yards uphill.
Things got heated at times, with both groups shouting insults at each other. At one point a Trump supporter caused a scuffle with multiple elderly women protesting the rally. Things settled down when city police intervened.
Tony Bayless chose to stay at the demonstration zone for his safety.
"I think it's really smart," he said, "That way we're not spitting on each other, you know across a line or throwing things or screaming and shaking a fence like in a riot zone. So I get it. It's just smart. They were the city was being very wise."
Both crowds dispersed as the afternoon went on. There were no arrests made, according to Asheville city police.
