Trump makes stop in Gastonia to support Whatley; Cleveland County notables in attendance
By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent
Local, State and National / GASTONIA - President Trump showed up in Gastonia on Wednesday to campaign for Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley. Among some of the guest speakers were currently elected and candidate speakers known to many in Cleveland County.
Republican nominee for the NC House 110 seat, Caroline Eason-Rhoten was in attendance with her husband, Gaston County Manager Matthew Rhoten.
Eason did not speak at the event on Wednesday, but she did provide a comment to The Shelby Independent.
“I would love for everyone to consider myself and other conservative candidates in the upcoming midterm election,” said Eason-Rhoten. “We know that elections are won at the polls, and it takes all of us casting our votes to keep strong conservative leadership in office. Let’s make NC House District 110 great again in Raleigh!”
As the crowd began to gather, earlier in the afternoon, before the event began around 5 p.m., Senate candidate Michael Whatley took a moment to speak directly to The Shelby Independent after his WBTV and FOX NEWS interviews, to explain why he believes it’s critical for North Carolina residents to vote for him in November – something he reiterated that evening, speaking on the stage.
“President Trump needs an ally in the Senate and North Carolina needs a conservative champion,” Whatley told S.I. directly. “I have been to all 100 counties across the state, especially Cleveland County, and I’m going to fight for the people of Cleveland County. I’m going to fight for the people of Shelby and every community across Cleveland County and all of North Carolina. We need people to make more, and keep more, of their money. We need safer communities for families. We need to make sure America is the strongest, most respected nation around the world; that’s what I’m going to be fighting for every single day.”
NC General Assembly member Paul Scott, District 111, spoke on stage about 5:30 that afternoon. Scott delivered a fiery speech centered around the right to life and liberty, focused around the evening’s theme of ‘make America Safe Again.’
“What good does it do to have a Bill of Rights, if you can’t exercise them?” Scott exclaimed from the podium. “What good is it to have freedom of speech if you’re too afraid to speak!”
He said, in part, everyone must be brave enough to stand up for what is right, beginning with instilling values among the youth.
“Are you afraid?” he asked the audience, to which they responded, “No!”
“What good is the right to assemble if you’re too afraid to go into public spaces because criminals who ought to be in prison are roaming the streets.” Scott mentioned how Cooper released prisoners early, allowing them to commit other crimes. “To terrorize our families, to terrorize our communities, because that’s what their tactics are!” Scott explained. “What good is it to have a free market if every time you take your goods to market they are stolen, if your store is robbed, if contracts are not honored or if we simply try to go from work to home and are murdered on public transportation.”
Scott continued, “That’s what our former governor Roy Cooper is all about. That’s what he is after because he doesn’t represent us. He represents the socialists in Washington D.C. And I am so thankful we have a president and we have a Senate candidate Michael Whatley who will be working to secure our rights! The right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – and it all starts with public safety.”
Superior Court Judge Craig Collins, who is running for the North Carolina Court of Appeals (Seat 3) also spoke during the event. Collins was featured in an article by The Shelby Independent a few weeks ago, which you can read here.
In his speech to those in attendance, Collins focused on following the Constitution, stating, “As a judge, I will always follow it. I will never rewrite the Constitution to fit some political agenda. It is vital that we elect judges that will defend the Constitution and stand up to repeat violent criminals and not be afraid to do so. We need judges who will stand up for victims and to protect our community. I will always stand on the side of the rule of law, accountability and justice – not crime, lawlessness and disorder.”
He also warned the crowd of activist judges that want to rewrite and/or ignore the U.S. Constitution.
Michael Whatley
When U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley took to the stage he focused on his opponent, former Gov. Roy Cooper, beginning with Cooper’s time as governor during Covid, shutting down schools and small businesses and churches.
“He vetoed the Parents’ Bill of Rights – how do you veto the Parents’ Bill of Rights?” Whatley exclaimed. “How do you tell the parents of North Carolina that you don’t want them to have a say in their own children’s education or know what’s going on in their schools?”
Whatley continued by mentioning that Cooper stopped bills that would prevent children from having surgeries to change their gender until they were of legal age. “Kids aren’t old enough to drive, they’re not old enough to smoke, they’re not old enough to drink, they can’t (legally) get a tattoo, but you’re going to let a surgeon operate on them with life-altering decisions? He vetoed legislation that would have banned men in girls’ sports because he wanted men in girls sports.” Whatley said, in summary. “We don’t need men in girls’ sports; we need to protect our daughters. We need to protect our female athletes.”
Whatley touched on a variety of topics, ranging from North Carolina prisoners released early when Cooper was governor, to hindrances put on municipality police and county sheriff’s from being allowed to participate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
(Trump continued below...)
Whatley called Cooper “The worst governor in the history of North Carolina.”
“I have a different vision than Roy Cooper,” explained Whatley. “I have a dramatically different vision than Roy Cooper. I will support our law enforcement every single day. I will ‘back the blue!’” he said to cheers. “I am proud to have the endorsement of the (North Carolina State) Troopers. I am proud to have the endorsement of sheriffs, from one end of the state to the other, because they know when they get up in the morning, and put on their badge and holster their gun that they may never come home again, that I am going to be there every single day.”
Whatley said the upcoming election was crucial because allegedly Cooper refuses to condemn the Democratic Socialist of America. He said Cooper would not because “I support the DSA, we need them to build a big tent and win this election.” he said as Coopers words.
“We fought two world wars and two other wars to beat socialism and communism, and we are not going to let them win here!” Whatley proclaimed.
He also said Cooper will raise taxes because Cooper thinks that’s “the answer to everything.”
Whatley told the audience that he was fortunate to go to college, get a job, get married and have a family and wants every future generation to be able to accomplish that dream, but warned it was “under assault.”
“Your family is under assault right now,” added Whatley. “The radical left, led by Roy Cooper isn’t just walking away from main Street, they’re running. They are doing everything they can to take this country off a left cliff. They want to bring socialism back. They want Christians to be under assault. They want your families to be under assault. And I gotta tell you folks - Not gonna happen.”
President Trump
When President Trump arrived, he spoke on many topics, all tied in support of Michael Whatley and voting Republican in general.
Main focus of the speech: Trump talked about crime, focusing on such victims like Iryna Zarutska who was killed on a train in Charlotte in August 2025 by a repeat offender constantly let out on bail. The economy, high gas prices due to the War with Iran, immigration and the border were major themes. He also talked about Hurricane Helene recovery.
On the North Carolina Senate election he stated, “In this election, I’m asking you to pretend I’m on the ballot just one more time… Just go, if I was on the ballot, I wouldn’t have to be here tonight.”
The stakes of the 2026 election are high. Trump said everything would get worse if the Democrats win.
(Trump continued below...)
“If we lose, you’re going to lose your border, you’re going to lose your tax cuts, you’re going to lose your wealth,” he said.
He spoke on the theme of the night, ‘Make America Safe Again’ in summary, stating, “Nobody used to think of North Carolina as a dangerous state, criminally dangerous… “And now, it’s one of the most violent and one of the worst in the whole nation.”
Trump also reminisced on Hurricane Helen and the early days of recovery. He talked about how FEMA had been instructed to ignore homes with Trump signs or looked like they might have had Trump signs. He said the key focus was two things, noting, “You gotta remember, there’s two things, crime and Helene.”
“Helene, that name, such a nice name,” Trump said. “Such a vicious, violent storm.”
The President spoke of more funding that was needed as North Carolina continues to rebuild from Helene, as he spoke kindly of Whatley and added, “Now, if Michael loses, I’m not sending it. Okay. No, I’m only kidding,” he quipped. “You’re getting it.”
On the topic of his own administration, he told those in attendance he had accomplished what he said he would do.
“I’ve delivered on every single promise I made, and far more than the promise.” Trump also spoke of the War with Iran, acknowledging the current extremely high fuel costs. “Gas prices are a little higher” because of the war in Iran, but “it’s a very inexpensive price to pay for what we’ve done.” He said that the war would end soon and gas prices would drop.
The President ended the event by doing his signature dance before waving to the crowd and exiting the stage.
Attendee comments
After the event, Cleveland County native and son of Wayne King, the Republican front-runner for county commissioner, Noah King, spoke to The Shelby Independent and gave his perspective as a high school student.
“Having been at multiple rallies and spent time around both Trump and Whatley, I can say this: The focus on locking up repeat offenders is real with both of them,” Noah said. “That’s why I’m confident Whatley will carry that same priority into the Senate.”
The Cleveland County GOP Chair, Sherry Yocum, and Vice chair, Paul Ledford, were also in attendance.
“After attending President Trump’s ‘Make America Safe Again’ event yesterday in support of US Senate candidate Michael Whatley, I am feeling great,” said Paul Ledford, vice-chairman of the CCGOP. “What a blessing it is to live in this great country as a patriot and not as a 'dumocrat' commie. Plus, we received extra blessings tonight, hearing from NC Representative Paul Scott, Court of Appeals candidate Craig Collins, US Senate candidate Michael Whatley, and President Trump himself.”
Current polling
In a recent poll published in The Carolina Journal, Republican Michael Whatley is trailing Democrat Roy Cooper by roughly 15 points. 49.2% of those polled said they plan on voting for Cooper, while 34.1% said Whatley. 12.3% are unsure who they will vote for. The remaining 4.4% of respondents said they plan to vote for the Green Party or Libertarian Party candidates.
The General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Early voting begins Thursday, Oct. 15, and runs through Oct. 31.
Follow The Shelby Independent on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. To contact Chuck about a story idea, send an email or visit the contact page.
Chuck Thompson is a reporter and columnist for The Shelby Independent.
The Shelby Independent.
Comments