{"id":121894,"date":"2024-11-04T08:21:55","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T01:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=121894"},"modified":"2024-11-04T08:21:55","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T01:21:55","slug":"we-are-locked-and-loaded-trump-fans-in-north-carolina-ready-for-a-stolen-election-us-elections-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=121894","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We are locked and loaded\u2019: Trump fans in North Carolina ready for a \u2018stolen election\u2019 | US elections 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cAs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/republicans\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Republicans<\/a>, we are locked and loaded and ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">The startling comment came from a mother of five and grandmother of two, Vikki Westbrook, as she lined up on Sunday outside an aircraft hangar in rural <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/northcarolina\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">North Carolina<\/a>. She had come to hear Donald Trump make one of his last pitches of the 2024 presidential election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Westbrook, 55, wasn\u2019t entirely joking with her \u201clocked and loaded\u201d remark. Nor was she being entirely frivolous.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">She does own guns, she said, though she wouldn\u2019t specify how many.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Personally, she intended to avoid any trouble that might erupt in the wake of Tuesday\u2019s election, she said. \u201cI have kids, I can\u2019t afford to go to prison. And I don\u2019t like orange.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">It\u2019s her fellow Make America Great Again (Maga) supporters whom she fears might be tempted to take action should the former president lose the election. \u201cAt this point, a lot of Republicans aren\u2019t going to take it any longer. They won\u2019t let the election be stolen from us twice.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"e0092b73-01fc-4515-8858-95b8700c8c5e\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\" dcr-173mewl\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1fujct4\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><svg width=\"18\" height=\"13\" viewbox=\"0 0 18 13\"><path d=\"M18 3.5v8l-1.5 1.5h-15l-1.5-1.5v-8l1.5-1.5h3.5l2-2h4l2 2h3.5l1.5 1.5zm-9 7.5c1.9 0 3.5-1.6 3.5-3.5s-1.6-3.5-3.5-3.5-3.5 1.6-3.5 3.5 1.6 3.5 3.5 3.5z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Vikki Westbrook, 55, attends a Trump rally in Kinston, North Carolina, on Sunday.<\/span> Photograph: Ed Pilkington\/The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Westbrook remains convinced that the 2020 presidential election was snatched from Trump. Now she is equally certain that should Kamala Harris win on Tuesday, it will be for one reason only.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cOnly if they cheat. I\u2019m absolutely positive of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Trump has been studiously nurturing such passions for years, his rhetoric rising in intensity in recent days. He has repeatedly refused to confirm that he will accept the results of the vote count, and earlier on Sunday he told supporters in Pennsylvania that he \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/nov\/03\/trump-election-pennsylvania-rally\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">shouldn\u2019t have left<\/a>\u201d the White House four years ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prri.org\/press-release\/survey-one-in-four-republican-trump-supporters-say-that-if-trump-loses-the-election-he-should-declare-results-invalid-and-do-whatever-it-takes-to-assume-office\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">recent survey<\/a> by the Public Religion Research Institute recorded that one in four Republican Trump supporters believe that were Trump to lose the election, he should declare the results invalid and do \u201cwhatever it takes\u201d to retake the White House. That\u2019s a sobering finding, but a grossly understated one, judging from the mood at Trump\u2019s Kinston rally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cPeople will riot if Trump doesn\u2019t win,\u201d said Cedric Perness, 38, an African American Trump supporter. He said it would be too dangerous for him to participate in any post-election unrest \u2013 \u201cI\u2019d get killed right there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Instead he does what he can, he said, to help Trump by selling merchandise on his campaign\u2019s behalf. He has a stall of hats and T-shirts, some saying: \u201cYou missed bitches. Two times!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">In the final stages of the 2024 race, Trump has been whipping up the passions of his millions of devoted followers to a fever pitch. In the last three days of campaigning alone he has made four stops in North Carolina, a battleground state which the Democrats have won only twice since Jimmy Carter in 1976 (the other time being Barack Obama in 2008).<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Trump must hold North Carolina to have a clear shot at returning to the White House.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">In these frantic last hours, he has pursued a two-pronged strategy to fire up his followers. On the one hand, he has been raising their expectations by claiming that he is well ahead in the polls.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cWe\u2019re going to have on Tuesday a landslide that\u2019s too big to rig,\u201d a tired and hoarse-sounding Trump told the Kinston crowd. \u201cWe have a big lead. We have a big lead. The fake news, they don\u2019t tell you this. We have a big, beautiful lead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">In fact, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/ng-interactive\/2024\/nov\/03\/presidential-polls-today-donald-trump-kamala-harris-election-latest\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">poll trackers<\/a> suggest that he and Harris remain neck-and-neck in North Carolina and the other six critical swing states.<\/p>\n<figure data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.NewsletterSignupBlockElement\" class=\" dcr-173mewl\"><a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"#EmailSignup-skip-link-19\" class=\"dcr-jzxpee\">skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"newsletter promotion\" class=\"dcr-av5vqf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-10et71f\">\n<p class=\"dcr-rsfwa\">Sign up to <span>The Stakes \u2014 US Election Edition<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"dcr-1xjndtj\">The Guardian guides you through the chaos of a hugely consequential presidential election<\/p>\n<p><gu-island name=\"SecureSignup\" priority=\"feature\" deferuntil=\"visible\" props=\"{&quot;newsletterId&quot;:&quot;the-stakes-us-election-edition&quot;,&quot;successDescription&quot;:&quot;The Guardian guides you through the chaos of a hugely consequential presidential election&quot;}\"\/><span class=\"dcr-1eusqlu\"><strong>Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our <a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/help\/privacy-policy\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"dcr-1rjy2q9\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google <a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"https:\/\/policies.google.com\/privacy\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"dcr-1rjy2q9\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"https:\/\/policies.google.com\/terms\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"dcr-1rjy2q9\">Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/span><\/aside>\n<p id=\"EmailSignup-skip-link-19\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"after newsletter promotion\" role=\"note\" class=\"dcr-jzxpee\">after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<figure id=\"7f17d519-c5fd-49b8-9f40-b6d13cd39eec\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\" dcr-173mewl\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1fujct4\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><svg width=\"18\" height=\"13\" viewbox=\"0 0 18 13\"><path d=\"M18 3.5v8l-1.5 1.5h-15l-1.5-1.5v-8l1.5-1.5h3.5l2-2h4l2 2h3.5l1.5 1.5zm-9 7.5c1.9 0 3.5-1.6 3.5-3.5s-1.6-3.5-3.5-3.5-3.5 1.6-3.5 3.5 1.6 3.5 3.5 3.5z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Trump merch for sale at the rally in Kinston, North Carolina.<\/span> Photograph: Ed Pilkington\/The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">On the other hand, Trump has also been laying the foundations of a renewed conspiracy, should he need it, to subvert the election results by alleging widespread fraud. He touted the false accusation at the Kinston rally that Democrats are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/oct\/03\/trump-republicans-non-citizen-voters-myth-stolen-election\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">enabling non-citizens to vote<\/a> in vast numbers, accusing the Biden administration of pursuing an open-border policy on the southern border with Mexico \u201cmaybe [because they] want to put them on the voting rolls. That\u2019s probably the reason.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Supporters at the rally faithfully parroted the lie on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cThat\u2019s why they opened the border, to allow all the illegals in so they could vote for Democrats,\u201d said a woman in the line who declined to give her name. \u201cThere\u2019s always been corruption in this country, but I had no idea it was this bad. America has been run into the ground \u2013 anyone with half a brain can see that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Almost as pervasive as the supporters\u2019 belief in the demonic intentions of Democrats was their frustration at what they could do about it. Last time around, such toxic emotions culminated in the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">The Kinston rally goers, following Trump\u2019s lead, universally dismissed January 6 as a \u201cset up\u201d in which peaceful and patriotic Americans were lured into a dastardly deep-state trap. Westbrook, the \u201clocked and loaded\u201d grandmother, admitted to having been present at the Capitol that day.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"1965b5d5-b8e8-470d-bf5c-4611f8eb79a9\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\" dcr-1your1i\"><gu-island name=\"RichLinkComponent\" priority=\"feature\" deferuntil=\"idle\" props=\"{&quot;richLinkIndex&quot;:26,&quot;element&quot;:{&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement&quot;,&quot;prefix&quot;:&quot;Related: &quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Trump disputes Iowa poll showing Harris ahead in red state: \u2018It\u2019s not even close!\u2019&quot;,&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;1965b5d5-b8e8-470d-bf5c-4611f8eb79a9&quot;,&quot;role&quot;:&quot;richLink&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/nov\/03\/trump-harris-iowa-poll&quot;},&quot;ajaxUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/api.nextgen.guardianapps.co.uk&quot;,&quot;format&quot;:{&quot;design&quot;:0,&quot;display&quot;:0,&quot;theme&quot;:0}}\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Hundreds of Trump supporters, driven to distraction by the then president\u2019s \u201cstop the steal\u201d rhetoric, stormed the heart of American democracy on that day. In the violent clashes that ensued, approximately 140 police officers were assaulted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">That\u2019s not how Westbrook sees it. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t what they said happened. The only people causing trouble were antifa, they were put into us to cause problems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">This is a lot for any American voter to be carrying. The 2020 election was stolen from her candidate of choice, she firmly believes, and now she\u2019s worried that Tuesday could see a repeat performance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cFour years ago I felt angry, very angry. This time I will be even more angry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Should her worst fears come to pass, and Trump lose, where will all that powerful emotion go?<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cIf he loses, I\u2019m scared,\u201d the grandmother said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/nov\/03\/trump-supporters-election-results\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cAs Republicans, we are locked and loaded and ready to go.\u201d The startling comment came from a mother of five and grandmother of two, Vikki Westbrook, as she lined up &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=121894\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8629],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-s","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=121894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121894\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=121894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=121894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=121894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}