Donald Trump is rallying in Western North Carolina. But why Asheville?

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

63% : "Of all the states that went for Trump in 2020, North Carolina was his narrowest victory -- a margin of 1.34%.
59% : Ashley Moraguez, UNC Asheville associate professor and co-chair of the political science department, said, similar to Cooper, that while it may be something of a surprise to find Trump headed for the "blue stronghold" of WNC, the move makes strategic sense.
54% : While Buncombe will almost certainly go to Vice President Kamala Harris, who is leading the Democratic presidential ticket, the rest of WNC is likely to "overwhelmingly" go for Trump, Cooper said.
53% : For someone in Swain County, for example, this is the closest in the state Trump is likely to get.
52% : "Because the Democrats have grown their support here, or grown their turnout here, I think it makes sense for Trump to come here to try to counter that," Moraguez said.
47% : Asheville is the population center of WNC, a region where Trump generally fares well, she pointed out, so it could be a way to attract voters from surrounding counties.
47% : A case could be made for Trump courting unaffiliated voters, Moraguez said, but as far as messaging goes, "at the end of the day, this election will probably be decided less by persuading unaffiliated or undecided voters and more by a turnout game ...
46% : Rather than coax swing voters to his side, Trump is more likely to double down, and try to light a fire under his supporters to not just wear the MAGA hat, but to show up at the polls and bring their friends.
45% : "What he does expect is that Trump will "preach to the converted.
44% : "Asheville may not seem the most natural place for Trump.
36% : North Carolina will play a "critical role" in the presidential election, representing a "must win" for Trump, which Cooper called the "definition of a purple state.
29% : "But as far as the actual contents of his address, Cooper said "Trump's not exactly known for staying on message.
28% : Trump is not.
19% : "Trump also visited in 2016 when he was campaigning against Hillary Clinton, also at the civic center, but in another much larger venue within it, where people were asking similar questions.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.