Former Governor Pat McCrory

September 14, 2025·1 hr·4 clips

Biden called McCrory out mid-speech at the White House—'Hey man, you ain't listened to a damn thing I've said'—then walked behind the podium and gave him a shoulder massage in front of a thousand-person audience.

The interview opens plainly. Don Curtis brings back former Governor Pat McCrory and keeps the tone steady around a difficult week for the country and the state. McCrory reaches back to 1968. He remembers his parents waking him after Martin Luther King was assassinated, and the shock that followed. Curtis keeps it conversational. The opening moves from civic anxiety into whether modern news coverage makes old troubles feel closer and louder. The campaign talk gets practical. McCrory and Curtis focus on dark money because voters often cannot see where it came from until the election is over. That concern has teeth. The discussion describes ads that may get softened before airing but still leave campaigns answering for claims that were not exactly accurate. Raleigh lobbyists come into view too. McCrory says companies can take large cuts from campaign advertising, then move on to the next candidate. He sounds disappointed, not dramatic. His point is that modern campaigns have become an industry he respects less than the volunteer-heavy operations he remembers. Then he tells a campaign story. McCrory recalls running against Beverly Purdue and falling behind after a tough ad about dumping New York City trash in North Carolina. Jack Hawk showed him another ad. McCrory says the proposed spot tied Purdue to a tragic murder at Chapel Hill and was pitched as a possible way to win. He says he refused to run it. The story does the work. It shows the private pressure candidates can face when an ugly attack might help close a race. The closing returns to broadcast routine. Curtis thanks the guest, names the production team, gives the Carolina Newsmakers web address, and sends listeners back to the weekly rhythm of North Carolina radio.

As heard by us

A plainspoken political interview about dark money, campaign ads, and the choices that shape them.

Pat McCrory and Don Curtis spend the conversation on a rough week, dark money, lobbying, and the way campaign ads get softened before they reach the air.

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Why you'd press play

Press play for a calm, insider North Carolina politics radio conversation with former governor Pat McCrory and one sharp campaign story.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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