The post shows a six-second clip of former President Trump standing at a podium with instructions to “text Pennsylvania,” and saying, “Would that be okay, North Carolina? I don’t think so, right? They want me to speak all day.”
Similar claims were echoed on X and other platforms such as Instagram and Threads following Trump’s August 17 rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, at which the Republican presidential candidate slammed his White House rival with personal attacks after new polls showed her making big gains in key states.
“Trump thinks he’s in North Carolina, but he’s in Pennsylvania,” one of the messages reads.
Trump, who for months has attacked Joe Biden as too old to effectively lead the country, has seen those age-related attacks backfire after the Democratic incumbent called off his reelection bid in July. Trump, now by far the most senior candidate for the White House at 78, would be the oldest president ever sworn in if elected in November.
Claims that he addressed his audience by misnaming the state he was speaking from are misleading.
Livestream footage of the meeting shows Trump acknowledging the presence of several groups in the gallery early in his speech (archived here).
One he called the “Front Row Joes,” a term he gave to diehard superfans who travel across the country to attend his rallies. Another, he said, was from North Carolina.
“Look at all these Front Row Joes here,” Trump said as he interacted with audience members to his left. “They’re just — you know, we got a couple of groups here, they’re at about 222 events. Front Row Joes, stand up, wave your hands. You guys are great. Patriots.
“But I have another group from a place called North Carolina. Has anybody ever heard of North — we love North Carolina. The beautiful ladies there. This is number, what? Two hundred and seventeen. So this is number 217.”
He continued, “They’re amazing women and they’ve been there from the beginning. They were there from the beginning in 2016 when we had the four best years this country has ever had. They were there then. Thank you very much. North Carolina. We’re doing great in North Carolina. Thank you, Darling.”
About 15 minutes later, Trump made a gesture in the same direction as he discussed the length of his rallies and addressed criticism that he was too rambling in his speeches.
“I go sometimes for two hours, two and a half hours, because you know, people wait outside for three days, four days,” he said. “You guys have been waiting out there for a long time. ‘Front Row Joes’ wait, I don’t know how you do it. And I feel like I have an obligation to speak and to speak in a certain way and to speak a little bit longer. You know, how would you like a man and his family to wait for three and a half, four days, they have a tent and the tent is set up, they have hundreds of them and they’re waiting, and then I walk in, speak for 15 minutes and leave? I don’t know, somehow. Would that be okay, North Carolina? I don’t think so, right? They want me to speak all day.”
A Trump campaign spokesman told AFP that Harris’ campaign is “portraying their candidate as a fraud and a liar.”
The spokesperson referenced the Trump campaign’s response to X on the “Kamala HQ” post, where they wrote, “President Trump clearly referenced the North Carolina Front Row Joes in the audience, whom he recognized earlier in his speech” (archived here).
Photos and videos from the event show that some spectators sitting in the direction of Trump’s gestures wore shirts that read “Front Row Joes” (archived here, here and here).
Trump also mentioned Pennsylvania several times during his speech.
“Thank you so much Pennsylvania. I love Pennsylvania. Thank you so much, thank you,” he said as he took the stage. “It is g“It’s great to be back in this beautiful Commonwealth.”
AFP has contacted Harris’ campaign for comment, but has not received a response.
AFP has debunked other misinformation about the 2024 elections here.
