Former President Donald Trump attended NASCAR’s Coca Cola 500 on Sunday in North Carolina.
Trump last attended a NASCAR event in 2020 and was the fourth sitting president to become the Grand Marshall of the Daytona 500, according to USA Today. Sunday marks the first time a former or sitting president has attended a race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, the outlet reported.
A video of the former president’s plane, dubbed Trump Force One, doing a flyover at the race garnered hundreds of thousands of views after being posted on Twitter. In another video posted by Charlotte Motor Speedway, a crowd erupts in “USA” chants when greeting Trump.
Special flyover from Trump Force One. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/rDS710cMBT
— Charlotte Motor Speedway (@CLTMotorSpdwy) May 26, 2024
President @realDonaldTrump walking down Pit Lane 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ur3eSxWDu9
— Margo Martin (@margommartin) May 26, 2024
The former president is leading hypothetical matchups against President Joe Biden in key swing states such as North Carolina. According to the RealClearPolitics average, Trump is leading Biden in North Carolina by five points. The former president won the state in the 2020 election with 50.1% of the vote, USA Today reported.
Before attending the Sunday race, Trump spoke at the Libertarian Party Convention in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. At the convention, Trump promised the party a cabinet position if he is elected with the help of their vote.
The closing arguments of Trump’s Manhattan Court case, which has spanned since April 15, is set to begin Tuesday. Throughout the duration of the trial, which left Trump Wednesdays and weekends free, the former president has claimed it has interfered with his ability to campaign.
President @realDonaldTrump says hello to Richard Petty at the Coca-Cola 600 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/8UVbZiLtU0
— Margo Martin (@margommartin) May 27, 2024
“I’m supposed to be in Georgia, I’m supposed to be in New Hampshire, I’m supposed to be in Ohio and lots of other places, and they have me sitting here,” Trump said on April 30.
Since April 15, when Trump’s court case in Manhattan began, only allowing him Wednesdays and weekends free, the former president has held just three rallies as of May 18, according to a Daily Caller analysis. Trump conducted 28 rallies through the same time period in 2016. (RELATED: ‘Election Interference’: Bragg Case Gag Order Puts Unprecedented Limitations On Trump Campaign)
More broadly, Trump’s campaigning has been less in 2024 than 2016, according to a Daily Caller analysis. Trump held 132 rallies across 43 states spanning from Jan. 1 to May 7, 2016. The former president has held just 24 rallies in 11 states in the same time period in 2024.
Donald Trump has arrived. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/MWQnflLfVu
— Charlotte Motor Speedway (@CLTMotorSpdwy) May 26, 2024
President @realDonaldTrump waving to supporters at the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/1rthE9dml5
— Margo Martin (@margommartin) May 26, 2024
“When President Trump is not in court eight hours per day for the Biden Trial, he has been hosting rallies and fundraisers, doing local and national media interviews, and even hosting foreign leaders at Trump Tower who have asked to meet with him because they know he will soon return to the White House,” a campaign official told the Daily Caller in response to criticism that Trump wasn’t utilizing his free Wednesdays.
