North Carolinians Sound Off in News & Observer, Rocky Mount Telegram, and Wilson Times on Whatley’s Lies
Rocky Mount Telegram [OPINION]: “So, when President Donald Trump and Michael Whatley roll into town claiming ‘costs are down,’ that’s not just wrong — it’s insulting.”
As DC insider Michael Whatley lies to North Carolinians about “lower prices,” local leaders from Rocky Mount are correcting the record and speaking out about how rising costs are hurting their community.
As costs skyrocket, Whatley has called the reckless and chaotic trade war “record setting in terms of […] effectiveness” and supports it “wholeheartedly.”
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Rev. Richard Joyner | December 20, 2025
- The farmers I work with throughout Eastern North Carolina tell me that because of the tariffs, their costs are through the roof and they can’t grow as many crops as they used to. They tell me that just breaking even on profits this year would be a victory.
- And for my own team, at the Conetoe Family Life Center, that means fewer meals available for Eastern North Carolina families who need help. We’ve had to let staff members go, even as a rising number of families come in looking for food. Especially around the holidays, that’s a big problem.
- Every day, I’m on the ground with people who are working around the clock to solve these problems. Leaders of churches and food banks who have dedicated their lives toward helping keep Eastern North Carolina families fed. And I’m proud of the way we’ve come together to address these problems – but it shouldn’t be this hard. And right now, we’re scared of what might happen if the federal government keeps this up.
- This is not an abstract problem. There are children and families right here in Nash and Edgecombe counties who are going hungry because of the federal government’s policies and their unwillingness to work to bring costs down.
- Meanwhile, U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley has been lying to us every chance he gets. He insists that “costs are down” and has cheered on the federal government’s tariffs, even as families across the state are struggling. It’s shameful.
- Working families across North Carolina are feeling it. Prices at the grocery store are way up. It’s harder to pay rent and utility bills. Health care and rural hospitals are on the chopping block. And last night, when President Trump and Whatley showed up to Rocky Mount to tout their “agenda,” it made me angry. How could they celebrate their policies like that when so many people here are struggling? How could they talk about how strong the economy is when families in my town can’t afford to put food on the table? How could they come here right before Christmas, the most hopeful time of the year, and lie to our faces about grocery prices and the president’s policies having a positive impact on farmers? It was plain wrong, and Eastern North Carolina deserves better.
- I spend my days talking with people who are just trying to get by. And I can tell you right now – they didn’t need a rally. They don’t need the President and Michael Whatley lying about how well things are going. They need help.
Rocky Mount Telegram: Trump, Whatley coming to gaslight us
James Gailliard | December 19, 2025
- As a pastor, I spend my weeks listening to real people tell me about real problems. Single mothers working two jobs who still can’t afford childcare. Senior citizens rationing insulin. Young families living paycheck to paycheck while rent keeps climbing. These aren’t statistics — they’re my congregation, my neighbors, my community.
- So, when President Donald Trump and Michael Whatley roll into town claiming “costs are down,” that’s not just wrong — it’s insulting. You can’t gaslight grocery store receipts. You can’t spin away the electric bill. And you sure can’t tweet away the reality that working families are drowning.
- The people of eastern North Carolina deserve truth-tellers, not smooth-talking politicians who think we’re too country to notice when they’re blowing smoke.
- Roy Cooper gets this. He’s fought to expand Medicaid, bring good jobs to rural communities and invest in our infrastructure.
- The choice is clear: We can keep electing folks who tell us everything’s fine while we struggle, or we can send someone who knows that real leadership means rolling up your sleeves and getting to work.
- Eastern North Carolina didn’t raise any fools. We see through the spin, and we will vote accordingly.
The Wilson Times: Roy Cooper is the guy you want fighting for you in DC
Larry McAdams | December 19, 2025
- In other words, I know Rocky Mount. And I know our people are hurting right now — costs are way too high, and Washington, D.C., isn’t doing a thing to help — in fact, they’re only making life harder.
- For Rocky Mount business owners, federal policies like tariffs have caused costs to skyrocket.
- On top of it all, Roy’s opponent Michael Whatley keeps insisting that “costs are down” and has cheered on the federal government’s tariffs from day one, even as people struggle. It’s plain wrong. And now, Whatley and the president are coming to Rocky Mount to tout their “agenda.”
- [Roy Cooper] knows how to get things done — we need a senator like him in Washington. Roy also grew up here in Nash County, and as governor, he brought health care and jobs to eastern North Carolina and changed lives all over his home region.
- Roy Cooper has never forgotten where he came from. Take it from me — that’s who you want fighting for you in D.C.
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