Trump is holding tight to his election as he is caught up in the GOP fulfillment

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DES MOINES, IOWA Nine months ago, Republicans questioned Donald Trumps’ place as leader of their party. Saturday night provided the clearest evidence that they wanted him there.

Less than a year removed from surviving a second impeachment, the former president rallied in front of thousands of his most loyal supporters across the Iowa state fair on a cold Midwestern night. He brought them up with his stories from the White House, his lies and complaints about the 2020 election results, and his criticisms of the Biden administration on everything from immigration to withdrawal from Afghanistan. .

Much of Trumps ’speech focused on his baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen by the misconception supported by the majority that exploded in the songs of Trump winning! Trump won! Trump won!

But the prominent elements are not what Trump said, but who he was with. Appearing next to the former president was a man of Republican influence in Hawkeye state, along with Sen. Chuck Grassley and Governor Kim Reynolds, Iowa Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson, former acting attorney general Matt Whitaker and Iowa GOP chairman Jeff Kaufmann.

Trump has held a rally since leaving the White House. But Republicans had not yet been elected of such tenure and stature appeared to him. And the presence of Grassley in particular suggests that any disappointment the GOP may have with Trump is now a faded memory; any questions they have about the direction of the party are resolved.

Trump himself seems to know a lot, as he is focused on re -examining the results of the 2020 election even as his party members admit that he would have just moved on.

Sir, think of the future, don’t go back to the past, Trump said he was advised by some Republican members of Congress.

I’m telling you the single biggest issue, no matter how bad the border is and the horrible, horrible thing they’re doing is destroying our country, but no matter how bad that’s the single biggest issue in the issue that got the most pull, most respect, the biggest satisfaction was talking about fraud in the 2020 presidential election, Trump said.

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It wasn’t that long ago when there was more uncertainty about Trumps future within the party. In January, Grassley offered a heavy condemnation for Trump’s behavior after the 2020 election the kind of statement that, at its heart, suggested a desire to remove his turmoil.

In fact, he lost. He brought more than 60 lawsuits and lost all but one of them. He was unable to challenge enough votes to overcome President Bidens significant margins in major states, Grassley said in a statement offered after voting against Trumps second impeachment. He belittled and harassed elected officials across the country to get away. He urged his own, loyal vice president, Mike Pence, to take extraordinary and unconstitutional action in the Electoral College count.

But Grassley is somewhere else now. He recently announced, at age 88, that he was running for an eighth term. And with that, Trump has gone from nuisance to necessity.

This week, Grassley and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee released a report claiming that Trumps reported pressure on the Justice Department to change election results to not only exaggerate but conform to promises. of the office of the president to keep the constitution. And on Saturday night, Trump brought Grassley on stage to offer his complete and total endorsement for re-election.

If I hadn’t accepted the endorsement of someone who got 91 percent of Iowa’s Republican voters, I wouldn’t be very smart, Grassley said.

For Trump, this is a great gift. The former president is openly discussing the possibility of him running again as president. The open-arm welcome to Iowa’s most important, first-in-nation state presidential caucus was a flashing neon light signal to voters that this party would stick with him. And he did it all while still launching broadsides against the current leadership (he led Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell at various points on Saturday for talking to Democrats to raise the ceiling of debt and for not having the courage to challenge the election) and without offering a bit of remorse for how his presidency ended.

Here is the difference. Hillary [Clinton] umako. I did not admit. There is no reason to consent, Trump said to a public applause.

For those honestly gathered on Saturday night, Trumps place over the GOP isn’t really an issue of contention. More than a dozen supporters interviewed said they expect him to run again in 2024.

Our country is in a downturn and we need to turn it around and keep us on the right path, said Judy Williamson from Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Biden, I’m worried about his thinking abilities. I’m not sure he thinks well.

When asked if he thinks Trump should run again, Jason Latimer from State Center, Iowa, replied, he is, that’s why we’re here. Citing the border and economy, he said Trump should run to get the country back to where it is. A man standing next to him chimed, and to show the world that we were back again.

Thousands of Iowans are packed with fair state policy to show their support and hear from the former president. A recent Des Moines Register / Mediacom Iowa Poll showed 53 percent of Iowans and 91 percent of Republicans have a favorable view of Trump’s higher approval ratings than he previously had in the White House. .

The absence is heartbreaking, said Jeff Kaufmann, chairman of the Iowa Republican Party of Trump’s popularity before his visit.

I don’t mean to be crude, Kaufmann said. But Trump to many Iowans represents the middle finger in doing things the same way they used to, in the fat cats and corporate welfare that Democrats now support and Republicans support previously. He represents an annoying person who says enough is enough.

While Trump has not officially announced a run for president, his visit to Iowa is a wink toward a 2024 bid. And the ground game he built gives him a significant footing over other 2024 prospects. Trump hired two full time operatives in the state to work on the release of Save America, Alex Latcham, a longtime operative in the state, and Eric Branstad, who worked for both Trump’s previous campaigns and the Governor’s son. Iowa Republican Terry Branstad, who also served as Trumps ambassador to China.

He has a love for Iowa, Branstad said. The move to Iowa has always been real from the very moment he started and he spent so much time here doing rallies.

But while Trump has begun to take concrete steps to assert his position above the shadow 2024 field, not everyone is sure he is the best Republican nominee.

At the end of the day about you can win and that’s the question that even Trump will have with some of his most loyal base, about whether he can win in 2024 and America is ready to bring him back, Bob said Van Der The Plates, an influential conservative and evangelical head of state.

Van Der Plaats said the warm reception of the Iowans had a steady parade of other Republicans visiting the state. Over the past few months, former vice president Mike Pence, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), And Tom Cotton (R-Ak.), And South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and others visited Iowa. Trump pays attention to their movements, but an aide so far has said his team is not concerned.

To be honest, we really don’t have to [pay attention to the others], said an aide. Every farm across the state, if you travel on any highway in the countryside, is Trump Country. Polls show this. People showed it. Action shows this. They’re coming out of the woods for Trump.

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