By Paige Masten
President Donald Trump held a campaign event in Fayetteville to rally support for Dan Bishop ahead of Tuesday’s special election for North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District.
Trump launched a number of attacks against Bishop’s Democratic opponent, Dan McCready – the first of which criticized the McCready for supporting open borders.
UNC FactCheck has previously reported that McCready does not support open borders. In fact, he has repeatedly said that the U.S. needs a “secure border.” While he does not support a border wall, he does support reinforcing pre-existing barriers with newer technology.
Trump also claimed that McCready wants to implement “sanctuary city policies that force prisons and jails to release criminal aliens directly into your neighborhood.”
McCready’s campaign has refuted that claim, though. Matt Fried, spokesperson for McCready, previously told PolitiFact that McCready does not support sanctuary cities.
“No, Dan doesn’t support a ‘sanctuary city,’ Fried told PolitiFact in an email. “Violent criminals belong in jail in every city.”
In addition to criticizing McCready’s policies on immigration, Trump told supporters that McCready is “not going to support your Second Amendment.”
However, McCready has often identified himself as a supporter of Second Amendment rights. As previously reported by UNC FactCheck, McCready does not support a ban on assault-style weapons or high-capacity magazines. Instead, he supports “common-sense, bipartisan” prevention policies such as comprehensive background checks and closing the gun-show loophole.
Vice President Mike Pence, who also spoke at the event, said McCready supports “Nancy Pelosi’s agenda”— including higher taxes, open borders and sanctuary cities. Pence also criticized McCready for opposing Senate Bill 359, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.
Though McCready does not support open borders or sanctuary cities, the claim that he opposed Senate Bill 359 is true. UNC FactCheck previously reported that McCready supported Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of the bill.
Trump also took the opportunity to campaign for himself ahead of the 2020 elections. In addition to endorsing Bishop, Trump applauded his administration for “two years of promises made and kept.” When describing his successes, Trump made a number of claims about the state of the economy, including employment and trade.
Border security and healthcare – an issue on which McCready campaigned heavily – were also a focus of Trump’s speech.
