Former president Donald Trump will hold a campaign rally in Mint Hill this Wednesday, Sept. 25, as polls continue to show the presidential race in the North Carolina sitting on a razor's edge.
The campaign event will take place at Mosack Group, a local manufacturing plant at 11210 Allen Station Dr., where Trump is expected to talk about American production, according to a campaign news release. The campaign is offering tickets to people who register online.
Trump's visit comes after he held a rally in Wilmington, N.C. on Saturday, where he made no mention of the Republican candidate for North Carolina governor, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. On Thursday, Robinson's campaign was rocked by a lengthy CNN report that linked him to dozens of racist, lewd and inflammatory comments made on a porn website between 2008 and 2012.
According to CNN, Robinson wrote on the website Nude Africa that he was a "black NAZI," enjoyed transgender pornography and spied on women in public gym showers as a 14-year-old. CNN also reported that he disparaged Martin Luther King Jr. as "Martin Lucifer Koon" and wrote "slavery is not bad. Some people needed to be slaves. I wish they would bring it (slavery) back. I would certainly buy a few."
Robinson did not appear at the Wilmington rally with Trump. On Sunday, his campaign announced the departures of four senior staffers, including his senior advisor, campaign manager, deputy campaign manager and finance manager. Only three people remained on his campaign — two communication staffers and a director of security.
Trump's visit comes as polls continue to show him facing an extremely close race in North Carolina against Vice President Kamala Harris. A poll by The New York Times and Sienna College released on Monday showed him leading Harris by roughly 3 points in the state — a slim lead within the margin of error.
North Carolina election officials began mailing absentee ballots to overseas and military voters last Friday. Absentee ballots will go in the mail for all other North Carolina voters on Tuesday.
Early in person voting in North Carolina will begin Thursday Oct. 17 and continue through Saturday, Nov. 2. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
