GASTONIA, N.C. (WHKY) – President Donald Trump discussed crime problems in North Carolina in Gastonia Wednesday evening (September 16) as he called its cities “blood-soaked killing fields.” He also called North Carolina “a special place” as he spent the evening at Gastonia Municipal Airport in Gaston County stumping for U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley in the final stretch of his campaign.

According to multiple sources, the president spoke for about an hour on topics including crime, the economy, maintaining control of Congress and the fans that follow him across the country. North Carolina ranks 31 out of the 50 states for violent crimes, with No. 1 being the best and 50 being the worst, according to U.S. News & World Report.

The FBI keeps a list of statistics on each state but acknowledges that various factors play a role in crime rates and chooses not to compare states. But Trump said North Carolina was one of the worst. “Nobody use to think of North Carolina as a dangerous state,” Trump said. “It was like North Carolina, it was beautiful, it was apple pie. Right? And now it’s the worst in the whole nation, and it all started with Cooper and you have a lousy governor right now too.”

[Photo from Wednesday’s event courtesy of YouTube]