OMITTED

What the news leaves out.

← Omitted front page

Trump Campaigns for Senate Candidate Whatley in North Carolina

14 sources · updated 2026-09-18
Left 67% Center 0% Right 33%
6 left · 0 center · 3 right

What happened

President Donald Trump held a campaign rally on Wednesday at Gastonia Municipal Airport in North Carolina for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chair running against former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper for the seat of retiring Sen. Thom Tillis. North Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 2008, and Trump won the state in his three presidential races, but recent polls have shown Cooper ahead, including an 11-point lead among likely voters in an Elon University survey; Cooper’s campaign reported nearly $21 million cash on hand as of June 30, compared with Whatley’s $3.5 million. In his first campaign appearance since the Republican midterm convention, Trump asked supporters to “pretend I’m on the ballot,” praised Whatley, and attacked Cooper on crime, including the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail train. U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche also spoke at the event.
Sourcing check · Mostly on the record · 9 articles

7 of 8 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.

What these terms mean and how they're counted
On the record · names a source 7 of 8
On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Michael Whatley, President Donald Trump, Donald Trump and President Trump
Primary evidence · cites a document or data 0 of 8
Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: None cited.
Credits another outlet 0 of 8
The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
Unnamed sources 0 of 8
The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
How it developed
When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 17, 00:41 UTC by Breitbart, naming its source.
Not counted 1
Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
Omitted — what each side leaves out

Unpacked

Left-leaning coverage presents Trump's Gastonia stop as a rescue for a Senate candidate who is trailing, while right-leaning coverage omits that he is behind and recasts the visit as an indictment of Roy Cooper on crime. The fear of losing the seat and prices dominating talk on the ground lead the ABC News account. Whatley's charge that Cooper has "blood on his hands" over inmate releases opens Breitbart, which never mentions the polls. Trump "falsely claimed" Cooper released the Charlotte killer, according to The Guardian. The same accused man was not freed early under the settlement, per OAN, which still carries Trump's warning that a vote for Cooper sets criminals loose. None of the coverage answers whether crime or prices is the top issue for North Carolina voters in this Senate race.
Bottom line

Right-leaning coverage of the Gastonia rally never mentions that Whatley is behind, even as NBC News reported Cooper up 11 points in an Elon University poll of likely voters.

The receipts — 3 facts one side's coverage lacks
  • Cooper's campaign had nearly $21 million to spend as of June 30, while Whatley's campaign had $3.5 million numberin NBC News · absent from right-leaning coverage
  • Cooper released 3,500 prisoners as part of a 2021 settlement with civil rights groups including the ACLU numberin OAN · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • More than 600 of those released later committed serious felonies numberin OAN · absent from left-leaning coverage
The Left View
Left-leaning outlets framed the stop as an attempt to salvage a normally safe Republican seat that Whatley is losing amid economic discontent. ABC quoted Republican strategist Doug Heye that affordability is “the No. 1 thing people are talking about” and that “the president who’s in power is the one who gets the credit or the blame,” while a Davidson College professor said the contest is “a referendum on the economy — and what Trump might have wrought.” Democrats tied Whatley to rising prices and to Trump’s Iran war, which local Democrats said has driven “record gas prices”; Cooper has branded a “Make Stuff Cost Less” tour and called the visit a bailout from “Whatley’s D.C. insider friends.” The Guardian highlighted Trump’s “deep unpopularity,” his call to “crush the communists,” a claim it said was false that Cooper had released Zarutska’s alleged killer, and a comparison to the 1988 Willie Horton ad. NBC noted that crime ranks behind the economy, threats to democracy, and healthcare as a voter priority, and flagged Blanche’s appearance as a break from post-Watergate norms insulating the attorney general from politics.
The Right View
Right-leaning outlets presented the rally as Trump turning out MAGA voters for a law-and-order candidate against a former governor they blame for crime. Whatley told Breitbart that Cooper has “blood on his hands” for releasing “thousands of criminals,” including “rapists,” “pedophiles,” and “murderers,” and that Zarutska’s “blood is on Roy Cooper’s hands”; Trump said voters could choose Cooper to “set loose criminals who rape and murder your children and your population” or Whatley to “protect and defend” them. OAN reported that Cooper released 3,500 prisoners in a 2021 settlement with civil-rights groups, that the New York Post said more than 600 later committed serious felonies, and that Trump also faulted Cooper’s handling of Hurricane Helene until Trump took office. Trump again asked voters to pretend he is on the ballot because “when I’m on the ticket, Republicans have always done really well,” warning that a loss would mean losing the border, tax cuts, and wealth.
Our Take (balanced)
The left’s strongest case is that kitchen-table costs, not crime messaging, explain why a Republican-leaning Senate seat is competitive: even a GOP strategist cited in ABC coverage said prices dominate voter conversation, and Whatley remains behind a well-funded former governor despite Trump’s presidential strength in the state. The right’s strongest case is that Cooper’s 2021 prisoner releases and the Zarutska murder give Whatley a concrete record-based contrast, which Trump tried to make visceral with mugshots and a law-and-order frame. The central unresolved tension is whether North Carolina midterm voters will treat this as a referendum on incumbent-era prices and on Trump’s coalition without Trump on the ballot, or as a judgment on Cooper’s gubernatorial crime record—and whether the disputed link between Cooper and Zarutska’s alleged killer will persuade more than it alienates.

14 sources

More stories

The week's bottom lines, in your inbox

One email a week: the five stories that mattered and what they actually mean. Free.