North Carolina: President Donald Trump threw sharp barbs at the thinning Democratic presidential field on the eve of Super Tuesday's big round of primaries.
The president threw some of his hardest punches at former vice president Joe Biden, who is coming off a decisive win in Saturday's South Carolina primary. Trump picked at Biden's propensity for rhetorical stumbles on the stump, suggesting it was a sign of senility.
“I honestly don’t think he knows what office he’s running for,” Trump said. He speculated that if Biden wins the White House, "he’s not going to be running it. Other people are going to. They're going to put him into a home and other people are going to be running the country and they’re going to be super left radical crazies."
Trump allowed that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who won finished at or near the top in three of the first four nominating contests "does have some enthusiasm, but much less than we have."
Read: Democratic presidential race reduced to triangular contest ahead of 'Super Tuesday'
Two moderates have exited the race: former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Former New York City mayor Bloomberg, who skipped the first four contests, will appear on the ballot for the first time Tuesday.
Trump speculated there may have been a “quid pro quo" for Buttigieg — the offer of a job in the next Democratic administration for dropping out and endorsing Biden.
North Carolina, a perennial swing state, is among the 14 states, one territory and voters abroad that will cast their ballots today, races that represent about a third of all delegates.
Trump's rally in Charlotte follows his campaign’s pattern of churning out robust counter-programming throughout the Democratic nominating process. In recent weeks, the president has held rallies in each of the four early voting states for the presidential nomination.
The president and the GOP are giving North Carolina, which has been decided by close margins over the last three presidential election cycles, plenty of attention.
(AFP)
