Trump zeroes in on national security at first outdoor rally since assassination attempt: ‘World is on fire’

Former President Trump said he “stopped wars with phone calls” while commander in chief during his first outdoor rally since surviving an assassination attempt.

Trump held a campaign event in Asheboro, North Carolina, on Wednesday, where he focused his remarks on national security and how “the entire world was safer when I sat behind that beautiful, Resolute desk in the Oval Office.” 

“The world is on fire. And Kamala and Biden have marched us to the brink of World War III,” Trump said from a podium surrounded by bulletproof glass.

The former president reflected on the state of national security under his administration, saying that “our allies admired us” and “our enemies feared us.”

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“We defeated ISIS. We killed the world’s top terrorists. We secured our borders. We achieved energy independence. We stood up to China. We protected Israel. We made peace in the Middle East with the Abraham Accords and more. We did things like nobody ever heard of it,” Trump said.

“I talked this world out of a lot of wars with telephone calls. I don’t have to send in the troops,” he told the crowd.

Trump pointed to President Biden’s erratic withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the devastating Oct. 7th attack on Israel – suggesting none of these things would have happened under his watch.

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“Since the Afghanistan catastrophe, it’s been open season on America and our allies,” he said of the withdrawal, which saw 13 U.S. service members killed.

Security gets in position prior to former President Trump’s rally, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in Asheboro, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, also spoke at the event, saying Trump was “the person who prevented nuclear war.”

“Mean tweets and world peace have a pretty nice ring to it. I think we ought to bring it right back,” Vance told a cheering crowd. “He’s too tough for the tyrants all over the world. He was too strong, even for an assassin’s bullet. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s return to a time when the bravest man led this nation with strength.”

Sen. JD Vance addresses the audience at a campaign rally on Aug. 20, 2024, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Andy Manis/Getty Images)

During the speech, Trump addressed the revised job numbers after new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed there were 818,000 fewer jobs created this year than previously reported. 

“The Harris-Biden administration has been caught fraudulently manipulating job statistics to hide the true extent of the economic ruin that they’ve inflicted on America,” Trump said.

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The Trump-Vance event came ahead of the third day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.