Donald Trump arrived at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday in a grand entrance that overshadowed Ron DeSantis and the other contenders for the Republican presidential nomination who were trying to counter the power of the former president.
Trump, who is leading DeSantis, his closest rival, by double digits in the polls, told DailyMail.com the Florida governor should drop out of the race.
‘He didn’t have many people show up,’ Trump said of DeSantis. ‘That’s not good. He’s doing very poorly in the polls. Very, very poorly. And I think he’s going to be leaving the race pretty soon, I think.’
Asked if he would debate DeSantis, Trump replied: ‘He really should leave the race.’
The former president arrived in the grandeur that only Trump can bring. Trump Force One flew low over the fairgrounds for the crowd to see. Secret Service wanded a long line of people waiting to get into Steers & Steins to see the former president. Mobs followed him throughout the fairgrounds, shouting his name.
At his speech to supporters, Trump mocked the other contenders at the fair that day – in addition to DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy were campaigning in Iowa.
‘The other candidates came here and had like six people,’ he said.
And while he mentioned the competition, his short speech – he spoke less than 15 minutes – was missing some of the signature lines from his last presidential campaign. He did not mention Hunter Biden, who is now under a special counsel investigation, and he did not mention his own criminal arraignments, which he claims is a witch hunt against him.
But Trump did needle the competition.
He brought with him a host of prominent Florida Republicans who have endorsed him over DeSantis.
One of them, Rep. Matt Gaetz, told a crowd of supporters that burgers were being grilled at the fair – rare, medium rare and well done – but that ‘the most done you can be is Ron DeSantis.’
Trump spent only about an hour on the ground in Iowa: he stopped by the pork tent, an animal center and then addressed a crowd at Steers & Steins, the popular beer joint on the fair grounds.
During his remarks, he repeated his false claim that he won the 2020 election over Joe Biden.
He also told the crowd ‘we’ll be back.’ He noted he leads in the polls but ‘we don’t want to take any chances.’
‘We love you very much. Stay healthy. Stay safe, and you know, stay strong,’ he said.
His first stop of the day was pork producers tent, where he accepted a grilled chop and waved it to the crowd, who roared back in delight.
‘You want it,’ he said to one supporter, handing it over.
The former president was mobbed every where he went on the fairgrounds. He attempted to look at cows at one of the animal tents but was surrounded by people, who wanted photos and his signature. Trump shook hands as he worked the crowd.
Word spread quickly through the fair grounds about where the former president could be seen. Crowds lined up at each venue to shout his name and a current of electricity and excitement followed the former president.
There was even new campaign gear: bright green hats that read ‘Donald Trump Back to Back Iowa Champ’ and bright green t-shirts reading ‘Make Our Farmers Great Again.’
Meanwhile, protesters ambushed DeSantis, Trump’s closest rival for the GOP nomination, at his every stop on Saturday.
DeSantis started the morning at a fair side chat with Iowa’s Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds – awaiting him were protesters blowing whistles and ringing bells, drowning him out as he tried to speak. They were eventually removed.
And as DeSantis flipped pork chops – a mandatory right of passage for presidential candidates – Trump supporters waving distinctive bright green Trump campaign signs – started yelling ‘We love Trump.’
During all this a plane flew in circles overhead, trailing a banner that reads ‘Be Likable, Ron!’
The former president has many supporters in Iowa but some Republicans are expressing doubts about his ability to beat Joe Biden ahead of the former president’s appearance at the state fair on Saturday.
And while his rivals for Republican nomination are campaigning old-‘school – visiting all 99 counties, visiting the buttercow at the state fair and flipping pork chops on the grill – Trump only spent a few hours on the ground.
The lack of appearances and the barn storming by his competition could be sewing doubts in the minds of voters about the former president.
Reynolds is hosting chats at the fair with all the Republican presidential contenders except Trump, who declined her invitation, noting she’s spoken well of rival Ron DeSantis.
Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa told Fox News that even though Trump leads in the polls that ‘we do have a number of people out there as well that will say ‘We do need a fresh face out there.”’
Plenty of Republicans are rivaling to be the fresh face. Mike Pence is spending two days walking around the fairgrounds. He spoke with Reynolds, ate some pork and saw the famous buttercow.
Longtime Republican Senator Chuck Grassley told DailyMail.com: ‘If you’re at the State Fair, engage with the Iowans. Make sense? That’s the way you win a caucus.’
Grassley, who has been escorting presidential contenders around the state fair, said he hasn’t spoken to the former president, nor does he know what Trump plans for Saturday.
‘I don’t know. But I know what he did to eight years ago when he was here. He came in with his helicopter, gave the kids that ride on the helicopter. He ought to be doing the same thing again,’ he said.
