Overview
- At Friday’s Rocky Mount event, Trump reprised his affordability tour themes, citing falling prices and promising a 2026 “economic boom,” while tying new tariffs to a local jobs revival.
- He promoted a $1,776 “warrior dividend” for service members and touted a drug‑pricing deal he argued “should win us the midterms.”
- He attacked the FBI over the 2022 Mar‑a‑Lago search by describing agents rifling through Melania Trump’s lingerie, and he did not address the Justice Department’s newly released Epstein records.
- Media accounts flagged confusing or alarming moments, including garbled boasts about “perfect health,” an almost‑used slur, exaggerated drug‑price reductions, and third‑person riffs.
- Trump cast the stop as a launch point for the 2026 map, boosting Michael Whatley’s Senate bid and pointing to prospects in newly redrawn North Carolina districts.