‘I’m not gonna be nice’ and other things Trump said during packed Charlotte rally

Donald Trump addressed a near-capacity crowd Wednesday evening in Charlotte, using charged language in his speech and warning he would not be nice.

The former president’s rally at Bojangles Coliseum was his first since President Joe Biden announced he would abandon his reelection bid and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the job three days earlier.

“They say something happened to me when I got shot. I became nice,” Trump said, referring to the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. “If you don’t mind, I’m not gonna be nice.”

Speaking for about an hour and 15 minutes, Trump used sarcasm to elicit jeers, while touching on border control, Biden’s mental fitness and Harris’ record as a prosecutor. He also made claims about transgender athletes, abortion, energy and tax policies.

Below are some of the more notable comments he made.

’... Kamala, you’re fired!’

Trump unleashed a litany of attacks on the likely Democratic nominee for president.

“We defeated the worst president in history,” Trump said of Biden stepping down from the presidential race Sunday. “Now we have a new victim to defeat: Lyin’ Kamala Harris.”

From Harris’ support for Medicare For All and the Green New Deal to her handling of the border, Trump blamed her for what he called the Biden administration’s “disastrous” policies.

Many of the criticisms are recycled attacks he’s leveled against Biden.

“(Harris is) the ultraliberal driving force behind every single Biden catastrophe,” Trump said.

He also accused Harris of taking part in a “cover-up” to hide long-standing concerns about Biden’s fitness for office.

Later, Trump bashed Harris’ prosecutorial record as attorney general in California and said she was a “radical” on abortion — an effort to undercut what is one of her strongest arguments to voters.

“She wants to allow abortion into eight and nine months and even after birth, Trump said. “The execution of a baby.”

In June, the White House denied that claim.

Jennifer Klein, the director of the White House Gender Policy Council, told reporters Biden and Harris “do not support abortion up until the time of birth, nor do they support abortion after birth, in fact, that’s not abortion.”

‘Drill, baby, drill’: Trump against green energy

Trump criticized Harris’ plan for implementing clean energy in America, saying he would allow fracking and drilling to keep oil and gasoline flowing.

Then calling Harris and Biden “stupid, low IQ people,” he added Harris’ plan would make America “a third world country.”

Trump claimed Harris wants to pass laws to outlaw red meat to stop climate change.

“That means no more cows,” Trump said. “Eventually that’s going to mean no more people.”

Harris was an original co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, which encourages the United States to transition to 100 percent clean energy within a decade.

She is against hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, and has called for a price on carbon — a tax some economists have said would be the most effective way to reduce industrial pollution.

At the border

Much of the evening was devoted to immigration on the U.S. border with Mexico. Trump has sought to put immigration at the center of his campaigns.

Trump called Harris the “border czar” at least five times during the speech. He claimed she gave money to help bail criminals out of jail and that she and Biden allowed a “never ending stream” of illegal immigrants into the country.

While Harris never received that title of “czar,” Biden did put her in charge of addressing factors in Central America that were causing a surge of border crossings early during 2021.

“Kamala Harris is the original Marxist,” Trump said. “She wants no bail… if you murder someone, just go home and relax.”

Trump’s claim about Harris’ bail policies was likely a reference to how the Minnesota Freedom Fund saw an influx of $35 million following tweets from Democratic leaders, including Harris.

The fund assists people who need cash for bail — a system criticized by some for mainly harming people of color. Those incarcerated are typically unable to afford bail, forcing them to lose jobs and income as they await trial.