President Donald Trump tells voters at Rock Hill rally: “Pretend that I’m on the ballot”

ROCK HILL, S.C. – With just five days until the crucial midterm election, President Donald Trump is deploying a full-court press to shore up support in historically red states. The president hosted a high-stakes campaign rally in Rock Hill on Thursday. It marks his second high-profile trip to South Carolina in just eight days as the race for a critical U.S. Senate seat tightens.

Trump received a roaring ovation in Rock Hill while rallying alongside South Carolina’s top Republican leadership. He took the stage and made a candid appeal to his base, acknowledging that voter turnout hinges heavily on his personal presence. Trump says, “I’m asking you to do me one favor, pretend that I’m on the ballot.”

The primary focus of the night was the high-stakes United States Senate race. Trump, endorsing Republican Darline Graham Nordone, who is running for her late brother’s seat.

For the thousands of supporters packed inside the arena, their motivators varied. A Trump supporter who identified himself only as “Bill,” says he’s motivated by, “Closing the border, bringing jobs back to America. Dealing with the Iran situation. we can’t let that keep festering.” Trump supporter Macy Charles says, “It has been refreshing to see elected officials who are willing to stand up for women, biological women who know what a woman is.”

Nordone pitched herself as an unyielding conservative ally to Trump, contrasting her record on border security, Second Amendment rights, and judicial confirmations against her challenger, Dr. Annie Andrews. Nordone said, “Boys do not belong in girls’ sports. Yet when Governor McMaster and our state legislature passed common sense laws to protect female athletes and stop radical chemical transition therapies on kids, Annie Andrews attacked them and said it was shameful.”

Despite a fatigued voice, Trump promised to maintain a relentless national tour. He framed every upcoming vote as a critical defensive line for the Republican party’s future.