Updated as of 11:46 p.m. on March 2 to include comment from event attendees, as well as a photo gallery.

Former President Donald Trump held a campaign rally after 2 p.m. on March 2 inside the Greensboro Coliseum — attracting thousands of supporters. North Carolina Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, State House Speaker Tim Moore, Sen. Ted Budd and Rep. Virginia Foxx, also used the opportunity to rally supporters to vote next week.

State House Speaker Tim Moore encouraged North Carolinians to vote for President Trump on March 5. 

“We have the opportunity on Tuesday to send a clear message throughout the free world that North Carolina and the rest of this country are going to solidly stand behind President Trump going back to the White House,” Moore said.


Republican primary challenger Nikki Haley, a former United Nations Ambassador and former South Carolina Governor, also made a speech on March 2 in Raleigh. 

Among the attendees of the event was Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson, who showed his support for President Trump. Johnson said he believes Trump is the right candidate for immigration policies. 

“I think he cares for America, I think he wants to make America great again,” Johnson said. “As a law enforcement officer, there is no border anymore, there's no state lines anymore. We have a lot of criminal illegal immigrants crossing the border, not just from Mexico, Venezuela and everywhere. And we're feeling the brunt of that at our local level.”

The event featured a full event space at the Coliseum, with lines stretching throughout the parking lot. During the event, there were roughly two medical emergencies from event patrons, leading to temporary pauses in President Trump’s speech.

For Alamance County residents Lori Audette and Steven Long, energy independence and immigration were their main concerns and reasons for supporting Trump. 

“We got terrorists, foreign nationals pouring over the border and nobody's doing anything,” Long said. 

Long also said he felt frustrated over the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline and believes it is preventing the U.S. from becoming energy independent. The pipeline was approved in 2017 under the Trump Administration, but canceled in 2021 under the Biden Administration. 

During his speech, Trump voiced his support for Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s campaign and told supporters to vote for him on March 5. Trump also compared Robinson to Martin Luther King Jr. 

“I think you are better than Martin Luther King,” Trump said. “I think you are Martin Luther King, times two.”