Trump attracts thousands to Duplin County for rally
By Dennis Hill
Published in News on September 21, 2016 9:57 AM
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News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
A Trump supporter walks through the Duplin County Events Center Tuesday evening.
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News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
State Rep. Jimmy Dixon speaks during the Donald Trump rally Tuesday evening at the Duplin County Events Center. Dixon said that Trump's decision to come to Duplin "means that North Carolina matters, that eastern North Carolina matters, that you matter."
KENANSVILLE -- A boisterous crowd of nearly 6,000 people packed the Duplin County Events Center to hear Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday.
Outside the venue, thousands more gathered around the building, straining to catch part of his speech or at least get a glimpse of the billionaire.
"We're going to win this state and we're going to take back the White House," Trump said to the delight of the crowd. "It's going to be a great victory for the people of this country."
He said his opponent, Hillary Clinton, represents a "very rigged system" and that the middle class of Americans have been treated unfairly. She is the "last line of defense for a failed political system," he said.
"America is going to come first from now on," he said to cheers. "I'm not running to be president of the world. I'm running to be president of the United States."
He said that his campaign is surging.
"We've created a movement, all over the country. People are energized like they've never seen before."
Trump said the Washington establishment is corrupt and that the media and special interests are in on the game.
"They're all part of the same political system," he said. "Our campaign is about breaking up the special interests monopoly. On Nov. 8 that special interest monopoly, that gravy train, is going to come to a very abrupt halt."
Trump said Obama and Clinton "look down on hard-working people like you."
"Hillary Clinton doesn't see you as people to serve, she sees you as subjects to rule over," he said.
"They don't want you or your family to have a voice, but that's why I am running. I am your voice. We're going to bring government back to the people."
"You're the backbone of this country. You are the people that make this country run. You are the heart and soul of the nation and don't you ever, ever, ever forget that."
He referred to Clinton's characterization of some of his followers as "deplorables" and the crowd reacted with a chorus of boos.
"I like what we have together," Trump said. "We've never been together like this before. What we have is something special."
"The system is out of control, it's off kilter. We're going to put it back into kilter."
Trump said the Islamic State was formed in the vacuum created by Obama and Clinton and he would work to change that dynamic.
"We can't continue to allow it to happen," he said. "And it's not going to happen."
Trump spent much of his time bashing the trade agreements that he said have sent millions of jobs overseas, especially to Mexico.
"NAFTA has been a disaster for North Carolina," he said. "It's been a disaster for this country. We're not going to let them take our businesses any longer. It's not going to happen."
He proposed legislation that would tax the products of companies that decide to move their manufacturing facilities overseas. That will make them thing twice before leaving for foreign countries, he said.
"We can't continue to be the suckers who let these companies move their manufacturing plants out of the country," he said.
He described Mexico as the "eighth wonder of the world," for its business growth at the U.S.'s expense and noted the U.S.'s $500 billion a year trade deficit with China and its $20 trillion national debt, which he said Obama has doubled since being in office.
"That's not going to happen with me," Trump said. "It's going to be a two-way street.
"I will be the greatest jobs president God ever created," he said.
Trump emphasized that the wall between Mexico and the U.S. would become a reality and that Mexico would pay for it.
"We need strong borders," he said. "We have people coming into our country who do not love our country.
"We don't know who they are," he said, referring to illegal immigrants. " We cannot continue these policies."
Trump said he would work to repeal Obamacare and noted its rising premiums and deductibles. He said he would work to take care of veterans and the military and would appoint Supreme Court justices "that truly believe in our Constitution."
He said the Common Core standards used in the nation's schools must be rescinded and that he would work to protect the 2nd Amendment, which he said "is under siege."
"We're going to rebuild our military and we are going to re-negotiate our trade deals, which he said are "horrible."
He said that he believes in free trade but that it must be a two-way street.
"We are going to make our country so rich again," Trump said. "We're going to stop being a debtor nation," adding that financial stability would help preserve Social Security.
"We're going to make our country strong again, safe again and great again," he said in conclusion.
Trump was preceded on the podium by several politicians, including Sen Brent Jackson and state Rep. Jimmy Dixon, who called the Tuesday's rally "the greatest event in the history of Duplin County."
Dixon said that Trump's decision to come to Duplin "means that North Carolina matters, that eastern North Carolina matters, that you matter."
"We are not deplorables," Dixon said. "We are red-blooded, god-fearing, gun-carrying Americans and we're going to help Donald Trump become president."