Trump, who has sent several tweets in support of Bishop and Murphy, held a rally in Fayetteville on Monday night in an attempt to push them over the finish line. Trump cast the special election, and the 2020 presidential election, as a fight for the status quo, describing Democrats as the “America-hating left.”
Tuesday’s results will do little to quell doubts over the political punch of Trump’s repeated attempts to paint progressive congresswomen like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota as the face of the Democratic Party, in a bid to sway moderate voters to the right and energize his base.
Gregory Krieg and Kate Sullivan, “Republican Dan Bishop projected to narrowly win closely watched North Carolina special congressional election“, CNN, 9/11/19
McCready’s near-miss could also signal that, for all that base might enjoy them, Trump’s attacks on lawmakers like Omar are a turn-off to moderates. The President held a now infamous rally earlier this summer in North Carolina, where the crowd in Greenville chanted, “Send her back!” as he railed against Omar, who was born in Somalia.
