President Trump brought NASCAR icon Richard Petty to the stage during his rally in North Carolina, hailing the seven-time champion as 'the King' and 'the best driver we've ever had.' The moment was captured by the official Rapid Response 47 account, which posted: 'The KING of NASCAR Richard Petty joins @POTUS on stage in North Carolina! 🏎️🏁🇺🇸'
In a video from the event, President Trump invited Petty up to cheers, praising his legendary career and his record of 200 race wins. 'Come on up Richard, come on. He just turned to a certain age, I'll tell you, he's unbelievable. I said, did you win 44 races, no, I won 201 or something, how do you win 200 races? But this is a real, this is a real legend,' Trump said as Petty joined him on stage.
Trump Turns Racing Praise into a Call to Action
The president used the NASCAR reference to energize the crowd, comparing the campaign to a race and calling on voters to support his agenda. 'He's a big racing fan, I appreciate that, but we're in a big race here guys, I'm going to look at it. All right, I'm going to lose him as the driver, this is the best driver we've ever had,' Trump said, motioning to Petty.
Trump then framed the election as a team effort, calling on supporters to elect representatives who would work with him. 'So what we've got to do is you all have got to pick out the best pit crew for him. So we've got to have the best pit crew, and that's what all this is about, let's get out and get the very best pit crew we can for the best driver in the world,' he told the audience.
He closed the moment with an optimistic message, tying the racing metaphor to national success: 'If we do that, if we can do that then he's a winner, pit crews a winner, we're all winners all over the world. Thank you guys.'
