Trump Revives 1988 Willie Horton Playbook for North Carolina Senate Race as $71 Million Ad Blitz Builds
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 17
Trump Revives 1988 Willie Horton Playbook for North Carolina Senate Race as $71 Million Ad Blitz Builds
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 17
Summary
At a Gastonia rally, Trump launched his midterm campaigning by replaying the 1988 Willie Horton strategy to help Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley against Democrat Roy Cooper.
Crime was the centerpiece: Trump showed assault clips, mug shots and graphic crime accounts, and falsely blamed Cooper for releasing a man accused in the killing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska.
The message aligns with a broader GOP push in North Carolina, where a pro-Whatley super PAC has reserved $71 million in ads attacking Cooper over pandemic-era inmate releases, even though Whatley has trailed in public polls.
Trump's appearance also highlighted tensions in the strategy: he praised historically low violent-crime rates under his second term, while Cooper's campaign said the attacks were false and desperate.
The rally marked Trump's first large outdoor event of 2026 and came as allied super PACs have booked more than $137 million in airtime since Labor Day for key Senate battlegrounds.