Former President Trump returned to North Carolina on Saturday, stumping in the Southern battleground state with direct appeals to women, claiming he would be a better champion for them than Vice President Kamala Harris, who is vying to become the first female president.

Trump campaigned in Wilmington, along the state’s southern coast, without Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican gubernatorial nominee and one of the former president’s top surrogates in the state, following a CNN report about Robinson’s alleged posts on a pornography website’s message board. Trump did not mention Robinson during a speech that lasted just over an hour.

Robinson has denied writing the posts, which include lewd and racist comments, saying Thursday that he wouldn’t be forced out of the race by “salacious tabloid lies.” Trump’s campaign has appeared to distance itself from Robinson in the wake of the CNN reporting, which the AP has not independently verified, saying in a statement that Trump “is focused on winning the White House and saving this country” and calling North Carolina “a vital part of that plan,” without mentioning Robinson.

Democrats have seized on the opportunity to highlight Trump’s ties to Robinson, with billboards showing the two together, as well as a new ad from Harris’ campaign highlighting the Republican candidates’ ties and Robinson’s support for a statewide abortion ban without exceptions. According to Harris’ campaign, it’s their first ad effort related to tying Trump to a downballot race.

Both abortion rights and Robinson are electoral liabilities for Trump in a state he previously won twice. Before CNN’s report, Robinson already was trailing in several recent polls to Democratic nominee Josh Stein, the state’s attorney general. Polls show Trump and Harris locked in a close race here and nationally.

Trump downplays abortion as a campaign issue

In his first outdoor rally since the second apparent attempt to assassinate him, Trump argued women would be safer and more prosperous with him as president and would “no longer be thinking about abortion.”

“I will protect women at a level never seen before. They will finally be healthy, hopeful, safe and secure,” Trump said. “Their lives will be happy, beautiful, and their lives will be great again. So women, we love you. We’re going to take care of you.”

The former president said women won’t have to think about abortion because decisions about regulating it are now left to the states. Many Republican-led states have taken steps to restrict or eliminate abortion access after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022. Trump nominated three of the six justices who voted to overturn Roe.

North Carolina banned most abortions after 12 weeks last year, with Republicans in the state legislature overriding Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto.

Voters overwhelmingly say they trust Harris to do a better job handling abortion policy, with 55% favoring her while 27% favored Trump in a new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Harris and Democrats running down the ballot have highlighted stories of women who faced severe medical complications or death because they didn’t get proper medical care from doctors worried about the impact of abortion laws. Harris on Friday blasted Trump as a threat to women’s freedoms and their lives, warning in a speech in Georgia that Republicans would continue to target access to abortion if he returns to the White House.

“Trump is scared out of his mind that women will vote like our freedoms and our lives are on the line this November — and he should be, because that’s exactly what we will do,” Harris campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement after Trump’s rally.

Trump also showed a gentler side, inviting two of his young grandchildren onstage. The former president lifted Carolina Trump to the microphone, where she said “Make America great again” to cheers, followed by her older brother, Luke Trump, who said, “Vote for Grandpa.” They’re the children of Eric Trump, the former president’s second son, and his wife, Lara Trump, a North Carolina native who now serves as co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

Bulletproof glass surrounded Trump as he spoke, a new precaution for outdoor venues the Secret Service implemented after a bullet grazed Trump’s ear during a rally in Butler, Pa.

Trump supporters dismiss the new claims against Robinson

A Republican has carried North Carolina in every general election since 1976 save one, when Barack Obama won the state in 2008. Trump won there in both his previous campaigns, but by less than 1.5 percentage points over Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, the closest margin of any state that Trump won. That’s part of why Democrats see the state as winnable this fall.

With neither Senate seat up for grabs, the gubernatorial contest has been North Carolina’s marquee downballot race this year. Robinson has become a natural top surrogate for Trump in the state and a frequent presence at campaign events there, appearing with the nominee as recently as an event last month in Asheboro. Trump has long praised Robinson, who is Black, referring to him as “Martin Luther King on steroids.”

Endorsing Robinson ahead of the GOP gubernatorial primary, Trump continued: “I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two.”

Robinson has a long history of making inflammatory comments, including suggesting women who sought abortion “weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down” and comparing abortion to slavery.

Charlie Kimball, a 46-year-old former construction worker from Burgaw, who said he is currently on disability, dismissed the new allegations against Robinson as “fake news.”

“That’s his personal life. Who cares?” Kimball said. “It’s all hearsay.”

Although the presidential contenders have made more visits to the Rust Belt battlegrounds of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, both Harris and Trump have made multiple trips to North Carolina, highlighting the state’s importance. Following Biden’s departure from the race in July, Trump held his first large-scale rally there, turning his full focus toward Harris.

Wilmington is in New Hanover County, which Biden won in 2020. But his margin over Trump in the county was among his slimmest in the state.

Julia Novotny, 55, of Wilmington, said she’s come around to supporting Trump after initial reservations because of allegations that he’s been sexually abusive to women, which he denies.

“He’s classy, he’s a gentleman, he looks good in a suit, and he has strong values,” Novotny said. “Everybody makes mistakes, and whether he did or didn’t, I don’t know, but you know what? Leave him alone. He’s a good man. He wants to change this country.”

Kinnard and Verduzco write for the Associated Press. AP writers Michelle L. Price in New York and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.