DES MOINES — Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, on a hot, sun-splashed summer Saturday at the Iowa State Fair, competed for the attention of Iowans and throngs of media.
It was a State Fair-sized manifestation of the competition between the top two candidates for the Republican nomination for president. And just as he has been in all polling on the primary campaign so far, Trump was the decisive winner on this day in Iowa five months before the nation’s first GOP caucus.
“The crowd has been incredible. It’s been incredible. Nobody’s seen anything like it. We’re very honored,” Trump told reporters.
By significant margins, Trump leads DeSantis and the rest of the GOP field in polling on the Republican presidential primary campaign both at the national level and in Iowa. Trump leads DeSantis by 39 percentage points in Real Clear Politics’ rolling average of national polls, and Iowa Republicans went for Trump over DeSantis by 24 points in a recent poll from the New York Times and Siena College.
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That strong support for Trump in Iowa was evident Saturday at the State Fair, where he drew massive crowds filled with some people who showed up hours in advance to see him at three stops: at the Iowa Pork Producers’ tent, inside the Animal Learning Center and at the Steer N’ Stein food pavilion.
Trump’s visit short but packed
Trump spent a little more than an hour at the fair. He also greeted a couple dozen supporters and campaign volunteers at the Des Moines International Airport before departing.
During his visit, Trump got a pork chop from a food stand and waved it to the crowd, but then handed the classic Iowa State Fair food to a conservative media reporter who was covering the former president’s visit. He walked past the Iowa Pork Producers’ tent and spoke with people there, but did not flip pork chops on the grill as some other candidates do.
Trump did not participate in the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox, a rite of passage for most political candidates who come to the Iowa State Fair. Nor did he accept Gov. Kim Reynolds’ invitation to participate in her new “Fair-Side Chat” series of interviews with the Republican presidential candidates.
Trump has expressed frustration with Reynolds’ commitment to neutrality in the Republican presidential primary. Her stance follows a tradition of Iowa governors of both political parties remaining neutral in presidential primaries, acting as welcoming hosts rather than supporting a favorite.
Trump was asked by reporters why he did not appear with Reynolds at the fair. He reiterated his belief that his support for her campaign put her over the top in winning Iowa’s 2018 gubernatorial election.
“I have a very nice relationship with her. … I like her very much,” Trump said. “I actually did a couple of rallies for her, and she ended up winning the election instead of losing the election. I like her very much. That’s why I came to do some rallies for her.”
DeSantis criticizes Trump for avoiding Reynolds event
As he walked the fair with his family, playing carnival games and taking in the fair sights, DeSantis skewered Trump for attacking Reynolds over her pledge to stay neutral in the 2024 caucus campaign.
“Donald Trump’s attacks on Kim Reynolds are totally out of bounds; I couldn’t disagree with it any more,” DeSantis told reporters about his fellow Republican governor. “She’s done really nothing but a great job, she’s never done anything to him. But that’s just how he operates, to attack one of the best governors in the country.”
During his chat with Reynolds, DeSantis reiterated promises to be a ruthlessly effective executive, pointing to his conservative successes in Florida.
“When I tell you I’m going to do something, I’m not just doing that to put something out for fodder in a campaign,” he said. “If I tell you I’m going to do something, you can take it to the bank. We are going to follow through and we are going to deliver on our promises.”
Amy Meyer, of Urbandale, was at the chat in a DeSantis campaign hat and shirt. She said her confidence in DeSantis’ ability to get things done was one reason she was supporting him over Trump.
“Trump seems to talk about things and then not follow through on certain things,” she said.
DeSantis greeted by protesters of all stripes
DeSantis’ visit was plagued by heckling from within and outside the party.
A group of liberal protesters at DeSantis’ fair appearance with Reynolds rang cowbells, blew whistles and occasionally shouted as the chat began.
Reynolds stopped the interview and scolded the protesters, telling them to be “Iowa Nice” and hear out the candidate.
“Let’s give everybody the opportunity to hear our candidates,” Reynold said. “We’ll stop until you do, but we’re all going to have an opportunity to hear from each and every candidate. That’s what we’ve been doing.”
But the commotion continued, and Reynolds and DeSantis continued the interview over the noise. Tension surged between the protesters and DeSantis supporters, and two of the protesters were eventually kicked off the fairgrounds by troopers, but no charges were filed, Iowa State Patrol spokesperson Alex Dinkla said in an email.
“The Iowa State Patrol and State Fair Police warned two individuals several times to stop their use of whistles and cowbells during an event at the fair with Governor Ron DeSantis,” Dinkla said. “... After the two individuals failed to comply with the repeated warnings, they were ejected from the fair. No charges were filed for the disruption.”
Derek Torstenson, one of the people in the group who was not kicked out of the event, said he came to counter DeSantis, who he described as a “fascist.” Torstenson is from Minneapolis, and the others protesting were from Iowa.
“We need to let them know that he’s not welcome here or anywhere else in America,” Torstenson said.
DeSantis was also met with opponents from within his party: Hoisting his daughter on his shoulders, DeSantis flipped pork at the Iowa Pork tent thronged by media, supporters — and a handful of Trump-supporting hecklers.
Several people held Trump signs near DeSantis, and multiple times broke into chants of “Trump 2024.” DeSantis's supporters responded with their own chants of “USA.”
Trump trolls DeSantis, dismisses support
During the interview with Reynolds, a plane flew overhead sporting a banner that read, “Be likeable, Ron!” Later, when Trump’s plane landed at the nearby airport, it flew around the area where DeSantis was tending the pork grill.
During his time at the fairgrounds, Trump waved off a reporters’ question about some Iowa state lawmakers’ support for DeSantis.
“We’ve gotten great support,” Trump said, noting the nine members of Congress from Florida who traveled to the State Fair with him are supporting his campaign and not DeSantis’.
Before he departed, Trump was asked by a reporter whether he may take a plea deal in the case involving an investigation into his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. Trump pushed back at the question and said he doesn’t take plea deals and that he did nothing wrong.