Trump and first lady to visit North Carolina this week

Danielle Battaglia, The News & Observer (Raleigh) on Feb 10, 2026

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump plan to visit Fort Bragg on Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Tuesday afternoon.

Leavitt said during a press briefing that the Trumps plan to meet with “military families and the heroic members of our special forces who carried out the successful mission, Operation Absolute Resolve, in Venezuela and helped bring narco-terrorist Nicolás Maduro to justice.”

Last month, Trump ordered U.S. troops to raid Venezuela, where Maduro, 63, had served as president since 2013, and capture Maduro and his wife. They were brought back to the United States and are being held in New York, where Maduro is charged with drug trafficking.

Maduro became leader of Venezuela after the death of President Hugo Chávez, but his popularity fell after a sharp economic downturn and political unrest. Thousands of people have died at the hands of the Venezuelan government.

The Trump administration faced backlash for the attack, with many world leaders saying it violated international laws.

The United States considers Maduro as a leader of a foreign terrorist organization.

Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from Huntersville who has become a harsh critic of the Trump administration, celebrated Trump’s “decisive action,” saying that it would bring “this dictator to justice and end the decades of corruption and crime in Venezuela.”

In the same social media post, Tillis thanked the U.S. service members and law enforcement who helped in the mission.

Trump last visited North Carolina on Dec. 19, holding a rally in Rocky Mount. His last visit to Fort Bragg took place in June and drew controversy for politicizing the military.

The first lady visited the base in November with Second Lady Usha Vance for Thanksgiving.

Trump’s visit this week comes less than a month before North Carolina’s March 3 primary election. The White House has not yet answered a question about whether Trump plans to make other stops while he is in the state Friday.

The Trumps’ trip to Fort Bragg comes the same day that Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, plans to travel to Durham for his “Fight the Oligarchy” tour.

Sanders also planned to travel to Greensboro on Thursday.

“I know the president and the first lady are both greatly looking forward to this visit,” Leavitt said.

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