James Willamor
At a Trump rally in Greenville, North Carolina, in early July, crowd members began shouting “send her back,” in response to a series of statements by Trump about Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar. He had referred to Omar’s background as a Somali refugee, and included the blatant lie that she has proclaimed al Qaeda as “great.”
If anyone was surprised by the xenophobia on display in North Carolina, they shouldn’t have been. It’s the kind of thing that happens in North Carolina all the time. That’s why Trump’s comments raised little ire and even some support among Republican members of the state’s legislature. Mark Walker, a Greensboro Republican, tweeted about Omar after attending the rally that while he “struggled” with the chanting, “her history, words & actions reveal her great disdain for both America & Israel.”
Perhaps North Carolina’s most controversial Republican is state Representative Larry Pittman, who currently represents the 83rd district. In a 2012 general assembly meeting, Pittman proclaimed:
“Our climate runs on a cycle. It goes up and it goes down and the Lord designed it that way. And the main thing that causes global warming is the earth’s relationship to a big ball of gas that’s burning out there that we call the sun. And it is the height of hubris for human beings to think that we can have any effect on that.”
In most legislatures, Pittman, who suggested that the Supreme Court exceeded its authority relative to God, would be an outlier. But among North Carolina Republicans, he fits right in.
Pittman has also called for public hangings, to be used against “murderers” including “abortionists,” and referred to Planned Parenthood as “murder for hire.” In 2013, he made a birther joke about President Barack Obama. (“He is not a traitor, at least not as far as I can tell,” Pittman said. “I haven’t come across any evidence yet that he has done one thing to harm Kenya.”)
In 2017, in a state already drawing fire for the infamous anti-LGTBQ “bathroom bill,” Pittman co-sponsored House Bill 780 or the “Uphold Historical Marriage Act.” The bill outlawed gay marriage, despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision legalizing it, stating that the Supreme Court “exceeds the authority of the Court relative to the decree of Almighty God.” The bill did not advance.
In most legislatures, Pittman would be an outlier. But among North Carolina Republicans, he fits right in.
In 2016, Republican legislators were forced to draw new electoral maps and hold a special election after it was discovered that the maps they originally created were illegally gerrymandered along racial lines. Republicans told the district court that “data regarding the race of voters was not used in the drawing of the districts, and, in fact, was not even loaded into the computer used by the map drawer to construct the districts.”
This was later proven to be a lie, as the files from GOP operative Thomas Hofeller show that an extensive amount of racial data was used to gerrymander districts.
North Carolina Republican legislators also supported a draconian bill that would punish any sheriff not cooperating with federal immigration officials, possibly facing fines of $25,500 per day or removal from office.
Perhaps one of the most tyrannical acts committed by the Republican legislature was its effort to strip incoming Democratic Governor Roy Cooper of power. In a January 1, 2017, session, GOP lawmakers changed the election board to keep Democrats from gaining a majority; took away the governor’s ability to appoint University of North Carolina board of trustee members; cut the amount of political appointments Cooper could make by 70 percent; and imposed a requirement that that Cooper’s cabinet members be approved by the general assembly. (Cooper sued but the North Carolina’s Supreme Court ruled against him.)
So it should come as no surprise that the Republican National Committee chose Charlotte, North Carolina, to host its 2020 Convention planned for August 24 to 27, just as the Democrats convened there in 2012. North Carolina is a swing state that went for Trump in 2016.
Many of the residents of Charlotte are not happy with this decision, More than 100 people spoke during a tense 2018 city council vote, one being city Councilman Justin Harlow, who stated, “I’d no sooner bring Donald Trump and the RNC to Charlotte—to the home that I choose and love, where my wife and I are raising our black son—any sooner than I would support a Klan rally in this city.”
Resident Pamela Grundy also condemned Trump. “Far too many people have chosen to excuse or overlook this dangerous campaign, because doing so gets them things they want: Supreme Court justices, tax cuts, power,” she said. “We in Charlotte are now faced with the same choice, the same opportunity to demonstrate where our priorities truly lie. We must refuse.”
One of the main proponents for hosting the Republican convention in Charlotte was Democratic Mayor Viola Lyles. She argued for the economic and social benefits the convention could bring to the city, saying hosting it is “not an endorsement of the administration.”
“I believe that hosting the Republican convention, the RNC, is about what opportunities we can make of it after this very, very difficult time of deliberation,” Lyles said. She called it “an opportunity to share the values that this city believes in—through peaceful protest.” Although she spoke of being civil and allowing differing viewpoints, Lyles made it clear that she would not deliver a welcome speech.
Kenny Smith, a former Republican city council member, agreed with Lyles. “A ‘no’ vote does not hurt nor impact the President,” he said. “It only hurts the city you have sworn to represent, both in terms of substantial lost economic opportunity and, more importantly, self-induced reputational harm for not keeping your word.”
This support later turned into condemnation and regret. On July 22, 2019, the Charlotte City Council passed a resolution condemning Trump for his “racist and xenophobic comments,” including those at his rally in Greenville.
After the resolution passed, many citizens called for the city council to cancel its contract for the convention. The city considered it, but City Attorney Patrick Baker explained that it was between a rock and a hard place: “I don’t believe that you’re going to be able to walk away from this contract, even if you were willing to pay the financial penalties for walking away.”
And so, against the wishes of many people in Charlotte, the Republicans will be convening here next year. Like North Carolina itself, it should be nothing if not interesting.