Donald Trump talks border security and economy at rally in Wilmington

(This story was updated to add a video.)

From immigration to the economy, former President Donald Trump hit on major hot button issues in this year's election during a rally Saturday in Wilmington.

From behind a shielded podium, Trump took the stage at the Aero Center at the Wilmington International Airport around 2:30 p.m. and spoke for about an hour. The crowd of thousands chanted his name with a warm welcome and he accepted with promises of economic flourishment if elected.

Trump promised a plummet of household goods prices, thousands of dollars in savings, and for energy costs to go down by 50% within 12 months. He also appealed to the younger generation, noting they would finally be able to afford a house and a mortgage.

Targeting taxes, Trump proposed no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and no tax on Social Security benefits. Trump said that senior citizens have been hurt under the Biden-Harris administration and that his goal was to rescue the middle class, make America powerful, healthy, safe and free again.

"We're going to save you," Trump said. "We did it once and we're going to do it again."

He also wasted no time before criticizing Democratic opponent Kamala Harris’ handling of her role as border czar, accusing her of letting terrorists run rampant, and he promised borders would be instantly secured once elected. Trump said that voting for Harris would be voting for four more years of brutal job losses, higher taxes, surging prices, falling wages, and economic depression and despair.

"Everyone knows that Kamala Harris cannot explain how she would make your life better because it's really her policies that have destroyed this country in the last three years," Trump said.

When addressing whether he would participate in another debate, Trump said he has already done two, "one with crooked Joe Biden and CNN and the other one with Kamala and ABC." Trump said he felt CNN was fair when it came to hosting and moderating the debate. However, he said that it's too late to do another one.

When it came to abortion, Trump stood by his belief that it should be up to the states to decide how to handle the issue.

Amid talk of hot topics, Trump took time to introduce two of his grandchildren -- Carolina and Luke -- the children of Eric and Lara Trump. Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara, is from Wrightsville Beach and now serves as co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

Trump picked up Carolina and brought her to the mic where she said: "Make America Great Again." Then he called up Luke. As Trump raised him to mic, Luke said: "Vote for grandpa."

Trump noted that he'd whispered for Luke to say MAGA, but he went out on his own. Trump also joked that Luke had "the gene" because he took a few extra seconds exiting the stage and waving to the crowd.

The personal moment brought loud cheers.

Before Trump took the stage, other notable Republicans spoke. Programming kicked off around noon with a recorded video of the Republican presidential nominee on the main monitor. Pastor Blake Spencer offered an opening prayer, and Luke Farley, candidate for North Carolina labor commissioner, led the crowd in the pledge of allegiance.

Chairman of the Robeson County Board of Commissioners, John Cummings, then took the stage. “I love Wilmington,” Cummings said, touching on issues of crime, immigration and drug abuse.

U.S. Congressman David Rouzer, whose district includes the Wilmington, also spoke. “We put the country on a path of great prosperity,” he said of Trump’s prior presidential term. Rouzer addressed issues of crime, veteran care, border control, inflation, and more. Rouzer expressed his opposition of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

“Personality won’t destroy a country; bad policies will,” Rouzer said.

The line to enter the rally had formed before sunrise Saturday. Trump supporter Bryan Fields said gun safety was his top issue for him. Pointing to a chain on his neck engraved with his son’s picture, Fields said he tragically lost his son last year to gun violence. Trump “seems different this time around,” Fields said, adding that he thinks the Republican presidential nominee wants to “go down in history as helping out.”

Meanwhile, Sherri Gossett said she was excited to see Trump in person. In this year’s election, Gossett said the border and inflation are issues most important to her. Gossett views Trump as “the only thing that’s going to end up saving this country.”

Just hours before Trump's rally, Democrats held a press conference where several politicians and local activists gathered to slam the former president's "extreme agenda." Democratic activists worked hard to explain why those voters should support their candidates, especially Harris.

New Hanover County Commissioner Rob Zapple said voters are sick and tired of the "extreme rhetoric" from Trump and his supporters.

The Democratic commissioner said the country already has had a taste of what happens when Trump is in charge, specifically mentioning the attacks on women's reproductive rights and the hollowing out of social programs, and couldn't afford another four years with him in charge.

"I want to make it clear," Zapple said, "we're not going back."

The Trump-Vance campaign, however, has made North Carolina a key target this election season. Although Republicans, and Trump himself, have secured wins for several years in the Tar Heel State, Trump’s margin of victory in the last election was only 1.3 percentage points.

His campaign has been making a clear effort to shore up their Republican base here and that’s evident in their visits to the state. Trump or Vance have visited North Carolina seven times, with Saturday's visit making it number eight this election cycle.

In fact, his running mate JD Vance was just in Raleigh on Wednesday slamming Harris on the economy and immigration.

But their counterparts, the Harris-Walz ticket, are also making big moves with nine visits this year from Harris and others from Walz.

And the polling reflects their tight race. An average of polls from FiveThirtyEight shows the candidates within decimals of percentage points of each other.

Trump stressed the importance of North Carolina in the upcoming election. "If we win this state, I think it's going to be over fast," Trump said.

North Carolina election fellow Sarah Gleason contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Donald Trump talks border security, economy at Wilmington, NC, rally