President Trump marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II by paying tribute to veterans and delivering a speech laden with campaign issues, from protecting statues and law enforcement to questioning his opponent’s mental sharpness.
With the backdrop of the retired battleship USS North Carolina looming above him, he designated Wilmington, North Carolina, as the first American World War II “Heritage City” for its role in building 243 ships for the U.S. Navy. He also paid tribute to the nearly 2 million servicemen who trained in North Carolina.
“They battled on the cliffs of Normandy, over the skies of Africa, and in the deep waters of the Pacific,” he said. “Over 11,000 North Carolina patriots fought the enemy until their very last breath.”
But the visit also allowed the president to underscore his national security credentials, demonstrating his role as commander in chief in the week that county boards start sending out absentee ballots to voters in the state.
Like several of his recent destinations, North Carolina is a battleground state. Trump won by 4 percentage points in 2016 and holds a 2-point lead, according to a poll published this week by East Carolina University.
And he could not resist using the event to take a dig at Democratic nominee Joe Biden. As he paid tribute to 97-year-old veteran Woody Williams, a Marine who fought at Iwo Jima, he added: “He’s 100% sharp, I know a 78-year-old that’s not so sharp.”
With the election barely two months away, Trump used the memory of Word War II to pivot to the country’s current travails.
“American warriors did not defeat fascism and oppression overseas only to watch our freedoms be trampled by violent mobs here at home,” he said, before claiming that his actions had prevented protesters from continuing to tear down statues and monuments.
He also used the occasion to thank law enforcement officers.
“Together, we will remember America’s towering victories,” he said. “We will recognize America’s outstanding virtues, and we will pay tribute to the heroes who keep us safe, strong, proud, and free. And I also, in addition to our wonderful, brilliant military, I want to thank law enforcement, because the law enforcement, without them, we’re not here today.”
Strategists believe law and order is an issue that could help him wrest the initiative back from Biden, who has a healthy poll lead. They want him to use the advantage of incumbency to show himself as a busy president with events like the one in Wilmington, in contrast to an opponent who has, until recently, been holed up largely at home.
White House officials insisted there was no ulterior political motive to the trip.
But it comes a day after the president surveyed damage inflicted during street protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, one of the Midwest states that helped deliver an Electoral College victory last time around. And on Thursday, Trump will be in Pennsylvania for a campaign stop as he tries to prevent Biden from flipping it back to the Democrats.
Ahead of Trump’s visit to Wilmington, Biden accused Trump of failing to protect people in North Carolina from the coronavirus and its economic fallout.
“Instead of honoring the sacrifice of our front-line heroes, President Trump has repeatedly ignored public health guidance for political purposes,” he said.
