Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign town hall on Oct. 4, 2024, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, with moderator Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL). (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)Former President Donald Trump eyed the military vote while holding a town hall in the hotly contested swing state of North Carolina.
Trump’s town hall on Friday was held in Fayetteville, which is home to Fort Liberty, formerly known as Fort Bragg. During the event moderated by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Trump took questions from various veterans and military families.
The former president renewed several vows about how he seeks to improve the military if elected in November. One of his promises for a second term was a local appeal to North Carolina.
When taking a question from a soldier about Trump’s plan for an Iron Dome air defense system for the United States, the man referred to the base as Fort Liberty, garnering boos from the crowd. Luna helped the soldier out by suggesting he meant to refer to the base by its former name. Trump then vowed to rename the fort to its prior name.
“I think I just learned the secret to winning absolutely and by massive margins. I’m going to promise to you, as I said at the beginning, that we’re gonna change the name back to Fort ‘Bragg’ because I think when that word gets out, I just see — look when this great soldier accidentally said Fort ‘Liberty’ and he almost got booed the hell out of the place,” Trump said.
Fort Liberty received its name in 2023 after a congressional commission tasked with removing Confederate names from military bases recommended the change. Fort Bragg was named after Confederate Army Gen. Braxton Bragg.
Ending his rally, Trump again doubled down on the use of the fort’s old name, telling the crowd, “Thank you everybody from Fort Bragg.”
The former president also took aim at the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the military, including the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine mandates for service members, and vowed to fire “woke” generals.
The military vote tends to favor Republicans, with North Carolina being in the top five states in terms of active duty personnel in the military and veterans.
Trump also discussed the impact of Hurricane Helene on the Tar Heel State and Georgia, commending billionaire Elon Musk for making his Starlink service available in the affected areas and bashing the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the relief efforts.
North Carolina is one of the critical battleground states in the November presidential election between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Cook Political Report has rated North Carolina as a “toss-up,” and Trump leads Harris 49%-48.4% in the RealClearPolitics polling average in the state.
