ASHEBORO, N.C. — Speaking during a campaign event at the North Carolina Aviation Museum and Hall of Fame in Asheboro on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump focused mainly on the issue of national security.
The rally Wednesday was Trump's second campaign event in North Carolina over the last seven days. On Aug. 14, he held an event in Asheville where he spoke on the economy and other issues of importance to voters.
In Asheboro, Trump slammed the Biden-Harris campaign for their handling of conflicts in Afghanistan, namely the 2021 Kabul Airport suicide bombing that claimed the lives of over 180 people, including 13 U.S. service members.
In April 2021, a few months after he took office, President Joe Biden announced a plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. The incident in Kabul complicated things, but the last U.S. forces eventually left the middle-eastern country on Aug. 30 of that year as its government fell to the Taliban.
"Since the Afghanistan tragedy, it has been open season on us and our allies..." Trump said. "We lost so many people that day. All over the world, our adversaries knew America wasn't to be trifled with when I was our Commander in Chief."
Trump told his supporters that if he is elected, he plans to ask for the resignation of every senior United States military officer who had a hand in the "Afghanistan tragedy."
"I want their letters on my desk at 12 p.m. on Inauguration Day. This house-cleaning will be a signal to the entire world that people will be held accountable for failure and incompetence. It's just not acceptable that something like that would happen," Trump said.
The former president also spoke about the need to strengthen our military, citing low recruitment numbers. To help combat some of these issues, Trump told his supporters that, "On Day 1, I will get Critical Race Theory and the transgender insanity the hell out of the U.S. Armed Forces. We're taking it out."
In 2021, the Army approved a policy that allowed transgender soldiers and people experiencing gender dysphoria who can "meet the Army's standards for military service" can serve openly as their self-identified gender.
Trump also said he planned to "rehire" the more than 8,000 service members who were discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine while giving them backpay for the duration of time they spent away from the armed forces.
Cheered on by his supporters, Trump promised to strengthen the military with these policies. He also mentioned his desire to construct an "Iron Dome" over the United States, similar to the air defense system used by Israel.
He also argued that a win by Kamala Harris — whom he referred to as a "Marxist" — in the presidential election this November would weaken the United States' position as a global superpower.
“If Comrade Kamala wins this November, World War III is basically guaranteed to happen," he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Asheboro City Council member Bill McCaskill, Randolph County Democratic Party Chair Diane Hubbard and local residents held a press conference trying to warn people of some of the effects a Trump win in November could have on the local economy.
"Donald Trump's presidency was devastating for Asheboro's economy," McCaskill said. "Our neighbors lost small businesses, farmers struggled and thousands of manufacturing jobs were lost across North Carolina. In a second term, Trump will go even further by raising taxes and killing the good-paying jobs that the Biden-Harris administration has created."
Wednesday also marks the third day of festivities at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Wednesday night's speaker lineup includes Harris' running mate, Tim Walz, as well as U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi.
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