Trump lauds NC early voting amid Helene rebuilding: 'A great compliment'

Former President Donald Trump on Monday applauded the high early voting numbers in North Carolina as western portions of the state continue to contend with the fallout from Hurricane Helene.

The traditionally Republican western region of the state has reported unexpectedly higher turnouts in light of the storm, largely keeping pace with the rest of the state.

"They set a record for the first few days of voting," Trump said at a rally in Greenville, N.C. "Now these are people that lost their houses, in some cases, unfortunately, they lost family members, and yet, they set a record in early voting. They've never voted for the number of days anywhere close to the voting that we've done. That amazing, isn't that amazing?"

"And I know [RNC Chairman] Michael [Whatley] and the team, they worked very hard on making it convenient," he went on. "But to think that that's a record that would be set -- a lot of people thought it would be 20 or 30% -- it's the highest number that you've ever had. That's a great compliment."

"And this is Trump territory, and that is Trump territory too, so that should be a good thing," he opined.

Trump currently holds a narrow lead in the Old North State of 0.5%, according to RealClearPolitics.