Former President Donald Trump’s closing appeal to Republican voters took shape in an Iowa speech on Wednesday, ahead of the Iowa caucuses next month.
The front-runner for the Republican nomination sought to galvanize Iowa Republicans by focusing on defeating President Joe Biden, while also slamming his two leading primary opponents, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who trail him in both Iowa and national polls.
The Iowa rally occurred as Trump enjoys a huge lead in primary surveys and is attempting to blunt any of their momentum less than five weeks before voting begins in New Hampshire and Nevada, which host Republicans’ second and third nominating contests, respectively.
His campaign speech came on the heels of a positive legal move for him, with a federal court halting an election interference case, potentially delaying the start of a trial, which is now set to begin in early March – during the height of campaign season.
Addressing the crowd in a hotel ballroom in Coralville, the former president attempted to argue that Biden’s economic policies have left American families worse off than when he was president and that the repercussions are more acute this holiday season.
Trump invoked previous President Ronald Reagan, asking, “Were you better off four years ago or are you better off today?”
He attacked DeSantis, who has staked his campaign on a strong showing in Iowa, on his earlier opposition to ethanol subsidies, a major concern for the state’s corn growers.
“He was completely opposed to anything involving ethanol.” Then, all of a sudden, he’s a great fan of ethanol. But one thing about politicians is that they always start that way. “They change for elections, but then they return,” Trump stated.
The former president dismissed Haley’s latest poll surge, pointing to his sizable advantage over the former governor and the rest of the Republican field. He went after New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu when he endorsed Haley earlier this week, claiming that his support wouldn’t matter in the Granite State.
“There isn’t a surge. “They have no surge,” Trump stated.
According to the most recent CNN Poll of Polls update, Trump leads the primary field by roughly 40 percentage points. According to the most recent poll, Trump has 61% support, while DeSantis has 17% and Haley has 11%.
The Trump team has escalated its efforts to mobilize voters for the January 15 Iowa caucuses and has shown films at rallies instructing supporters on how to vote for the former president. However, several of his competitors have considerably outperformed him in terms of the number of events organized in the state.
Several of Trump’s supporters, like Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, are also planned to serve as surrogates for him at rallies in Iowa in the coming days.
DeSantis used every opportunity during a CNN town hall Tuesday night to bash Trump as he tried to bridge the polling gap between them.
The Florida governor sought to contrast his governorship with Trump’s presidency, criticizing the former president’s economic policies, handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, and abortion stance, among other things.
Though Trump’s campaign has grown increasingly secure in his status in Iowa, the campaign sees potential obstacles in New Hampshire, where Haley’s popularity has grown. Trump attacked Sununu on his Truth Social platform earlier Wednesday, claiming that Haley had “no chance of winning.”