Trump returns to Iowa for another rally and angers the state’s governor for endorsing DeSantis
Fort Dodge, Iowa (AFP) Former President Donald Trump He will be campaigning Saturday in west-central Iowa as part of his fall push to register supporters and volunteers ahead of the state’s primary, which is now less than two months away.
Trump is expected to head an organizing rally in Fort Dodge, a GOP-leaning hub, the latest in a series of targeted regional stops aimed at capturing the large crowds the former president is attracting press attendees to commit to voting for him on Jan. 15. .
The midday event scheduled for Fort Dodge High School will be Trump’s sixth visit to Iowa since late September. While Trump was leading the governor of Florida. With Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley polling comfortably with potential caucus participants, the Trump campaign has been more aggressive in Iowa than in any other early-voting state on the GOP presidential nominating calendar.
Speaking on a radio show Thursday to promote his appearance, Trump criticized DeSantis as “doing very poorly” even after he won the election. Endorsement of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Which broke with the general practice of Iowa governors not to support a candidate before the caucuses.
I was really good to her and then she said she would stay neutral. “And I said, ‘That’s good,’ but I didn’t really particularly want it,” he told host Simon Conway.
“Ron is doing very poorly in the polls, and I think he put a lot of pressure on her,” Trump said. “And I did. And that’s good. I think it’s fine. I don’t think it made any difference.”
Trump has made regular visits to Iowa, appearing at eight events before audiences totaling more than 16,000, according to Trump Secret Service details, in the past eight weeks.
It’s part of Trump’s 2024 strategy to focus on the organization more than in 2016, when he finished a competitive runner-up, but he did so without building a network of staff and volunteers to provide what was unexpected support for the real estate mogul and reality TV personality.
His lesser-known rivals, especially DeSantis, are often in Iowa where they hope for a better-than-expected result against the former president, who is also comfortably ahead in national GOP polls.
While Trump campaigns in Fort Dodge on Saturday, DeSantis will campaign throughout southern Iowa, moving closer to his goal of campaigning in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties. This is a traditional mark that some candidates have tried to achieve to show their commitment to Iowa.
A recent memo to DeSantis campaign donors noted that DeSantis’ overall strategy in Iowa, including Reynolds’ endorsement of the Florida governor last week, was in line with his hope of denying Trump a “big win in Iowa.”
