Donald Trump returns Saturday for a campaign rally in North Carolina, where the former president is confronting a mess he played a key role in making in the critical battleground state.

Donald J. Trump will hold a rally in Wilmington, N.C., while JD Vance and Tim Walz, the vice-presidential candidates, will campaign not far from each other in Pennsylvania.

Republican Mark Robinson's campaign for governor in North Carolina has been rocked by a CNN report that he posted racist and explicit messages on a pornography web site message board more than a decade ago. Some in his party fear the allegations could threaten Donald Trump's standing in a state critical to winning the presidency in November.