During a campaign rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump invoked the Willie Horton case—a 1988 political controversy—to criticize Democratic Senate candidate Roy Cooper over crime policy. Trump, stumping for Republican nominee Michael Whatley, compared Cooper’s tenure as governor to the Massachusetts furlough program that led to Horton’s release and subsequent violent crimes. Horton, a Black man convicted of murder and rape, became a central figure in a controversial political ad used against then-Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis in 1988.
Trump stated, "Willie Horton was a bad guy, really bad guy," before drawing a parallel to the 2025 fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, by DeCarlos Brown Jr. in Charlotte. Brown was released pretrial prior to the killing. Trump claimed the incident mirrored the Horton case, asserting Cooper’s policies contributed to the outcome. Cooper was not governor at the time of Brown’s release or the killing.
Whatley, the Republican Senate nominee, has similarly accused Cooper of creating a "revolving door" for criminals. At the Republican National Committee midterm convention last week, Whatley alleged Cooper’s policies led to repeat offenses, including the Charlotte fatality. Trump echoed these claims in Gastonia, calling North Carolina’s cities "blood-soaked killing fields" under Cooper’s leadership.
Public polling suggests crime is not a top voter priority in the race. An Elon University poll released last week found 49% of likely voters favor Cooper, while 36% support Whatley, with 14% undecided or voting for another candidate. The poll indicated 86% of voters ranked inflation and cost of living as "very important," while crime did not rank among the top five issues.
The North Carolina Senate seat is a battleground race critical to Democrats’ efforts to retake control of the chamber. Cooper, a former state attorney general, served as governor from 2017 to 2025 and has defended his record on public safety, emphasizing economic and healthcare priorities in his campaign.
Political analysts note Trump’s invocation of Horton—a tactic credited with shifting voter perception in 1988—could signal a broader strategy to frame Democrats as soft on crime ahead of the midterms. The comparison has drawn criticism for its racial undertones, with Horton’s case long associated with racially charged political messaging.
A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee declined to comment on the Horton comparison but reiterated the party’s focus on crime as a key issue in the race.