Trump compares hecklers at North Carolina rally to France riots, announces $1.5 billion chip investment

US President Donald Trump addressed campaign rally in North Carolina and announced a $1.5 billion dollar investment from the Pentagon to expand semiconductor production in there. As he faced protest in the swing state, he compared hecklers at a rally with the violent protesters in Paris that have erupted during nationwide protests.

Minutes into his rally in Greenville, Trump was heckled by two protesters in succession. “They get home, and they get smacked in the face by the mother and the father, maybe a little harder by the father. And they say, ‘We voted for that man. We love that man. You did that — how disgraceful,’” Trump said. “They get paid by the radical left lunatics that you watch taking place in France,” Trump said. “I would say this is a slightly lesser event."

On investment, he said: “The Department of War will be investing $1.5 billion dollars to produce cutting-edge semiconductor chips right here in North Carolina,” Trump said while speaking at a midterm rally in Greenville. The president also announced the construction of a massive manufacturing plant in the Tar Heel State by Sibelco, and brought Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on stage to share the news with the crowd.

“So, the president had as one of his fundamental objectives was to bring semiconductor manufacturing home to America, right? It’s all made in Taiwan, right? And that’s just too far away for America. So he’s bringing it home,” Lutnick said. Trump has made similar announcements at previous midterm rally stops, including a $4.4 billion investment from Taiwan into the Alaska pipeline and a $200 billion investment from South Korea into US energy infrastructure.

France protest

France is reeling from its worst urban unrest in years after nationwide demonstrations on October 17, 2026, descended into street violence, arson, and mass looting. Over half a million peaceful protesters took to the streets across major cities. The catalyst began a month prior with student-led protests in the Paris suburbs over severe teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and crumbling school infrastructure. The movement quickly broadened into a society-wide protest against soaring inflation. The French Interior Ministry reported that nearly 2,400 people have been detained nationwide. In a televised address on Sunday evening, President Emmanuel Macron expressed "anger and shame," vowing that those who sought to "bring down the republic" would be held fully accountable.