Trump and DeSantis clash in Iowa on Saturday as their looming 2024 battle heats up

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CNN —

The competing ambitions of former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis collided Saturday in Iowa, the closest the two have been to each other on the road as they head into a 2024 showdown.

DeSantis will be flipping burgers and chatting with potential caucus-goers in northwest Iowa on Saturday before addressing a local Republican fundraiser in Cedar Rapids. Meanwhile, in Des Moines later that evening, Trump will address thousands of his supporters at a signature rally, his first campaign event since CNN’s town hall on Wednesday and his first time in a controlled setting since being impeached. his jury for sexual abuse and defamation of author E. Jean Carroll.

They’re going to Iowa because they’re going to Iowa, a Trump adviser said, downplaying the conflicting events. We are 100% focused on caucusing this trip and outreach to potential voters.

Although Trump has shown an early lead in the GOP primary field, the decision to bracket DeSantis’ visit and the frequent attacks aimed at his rival signal that the former president still sees the Florida governor as his most serious potential challenger for the parties’ nomination.

DeSantis, for his part, has approached the GOPs 2024 front-runner cautiously as he maneuvers toward his own presidential campaign. The governor has spent much of the past month fending off Trump, deflecting the former president’s constant snubs and dodging questions about his potential rivals mounting legal troubles. and there is little indication that he plans to change tactics before he officially enters the race in the coming weeks.

You know, there’s different things in the news, but we’ve been busy, DeSantis said Wednesday, a day after E. Jean Carroll’s sentence came down.

DeSantis’ allies, however, began testing potential counterattacks. Leading Trumps New Hampshire town hall on CNN, Never Back Down, a super PAC aligned with DeSantis, called the former president a candidate who has lost his luster and suggested he is appearing on the cable outlet to cling to his decaying that frontrunner status. At Wednesday’s event, the super PAC cheered on host Kaitlan Collins as she pushed Trump on the unfinished US-Mexico border wall, accusing him of pandering to gun owners as president by of the ban on bump stocks.

As Trump left the stage, the group tweeted a list of controversies Trump spent an hour discussing, including his sexual assault case, investigations into his withholding of intelligence documents taxpayer-owned Mar-a-Lago, his attempts to subvert the 2020 Georgia presidential election, and his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol and whether he will pardon the rioters.

How does this make America Great? stated the tweet.

The missive noted its willingness to target Trump on topics DeSantis himself is loathe to weigh in on. DeSantis has repeatedly refused to address questions about the 2020 election results and Trumps election lies. And when DeSantis attacked these controversies, he stood up to Trump even more.

Although he initially said the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol was unacceptable, DeSantis, on the one-year anniversary of the bloody riot, called the coverage nauseating and Christmas for the media to discredit anyone who supported Donald Trump. When the FBI descended on Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate to seize classified documents last summer, DeSantis called it another increase in the weaponization of federal agencies.

Meanwhile, his political team, which operates a rapid-response Twitter account to quickly counter negative coverage and criticism from perceived political enemies, did not tweet about the CNN town hall even though Trump suggested it. that the governor is so far in the polls that he deserves a rest. and slow down and think about the future.

Trump has made the Florida governor a focus of his primary attacks, criticizing DeSantis’ voting record as a congressman on issues such as entitlement overhaul and calling him dishonest for considering a presidential bid after receiving Trumps endorsement in his 2018 run for governor, a point the president previously raised again Friday on social media ahead of a trip to Iowa. Trump also appeared to threaten DeSantis for considering announcing a 2024 bid.

I will tell you things about him that are not very flattering. I know more about him than anyone except, maybe, his wife, Trump said in an interview last fall with Fox News Digital.

While it’s not unusual for super PACs to engage in the dirty work of candidates they support, some of DeSantis’ staunchest online allies appear uncomfortable with the messaging even in the face of more aggressive jabs from to Trump. It’s the latest sign of the tough task ahead for Republicans seeking to catch up with a man who remains an icon to many in the party.

John Cardillo, a conservative influencer with access to the DeSantis political operation, in a tweet called the Never Back Downs approach rehashing stale talking points.

I swear a Democrat wrote this, tweeted Brendon Leslie, who runs Floridas Voice, a website known in the state for its glowing coverage of DeSantis.

Never Back Down stand by strategy.

We’re not afraid to set the record straight and push back on misguided attacks from potential opponents who fear confronting the governor if he jumps into the race, Erin Perrine, a spokeswoman for the super PAC, said in a statement to CNN. Americans know that Ron DeSantis is the future.

Saturday marked Trump’s second trip to Iowa since announcing his presidential bid in November, and advisers told CNN the focus will be on educating voters about caucusing and voter outreach. Trump has recorded at least one video to be aired during the rally explaining the caucus process and encouraging Iowans to learn about it. His team has gone through data collected from dozens of events Trump has held in the state since entering the presidential fray in 2015 and plans to reach out to ensure these Trump supporters are registered to vote and still behind the former president.

Although appearing in both states, DeSantis in Iowa is likely to steer clear of Trump and continue to tout the conservative policy gains he pushed in Floridas recently concluded legislative session.

His trip to the Hawkeye State was also a chance for Iowans to see another side of DeSantis. At a pair of appearances in Iowa earlier this year, DeSantis delivered remarks from a stage and stayed behind a rope line to take photos and sign his new book for attendees.

On Saturday, DeSantis will test his Midwest retail politics with Republican Rep. Randy Feenstras annual family picnic in the northwestern city of Sioux Center, the most conservative corner of the state. After DeSantis speaks, he and Feenstra and their wives are expected to mingle and grill food for the crowd.

Later, DeSantis will kick off a GOP fundraiser in Cedar Rapids, his twelfth event since March. The first 10 raised more than $4.3 million for local Republicans, his political team told CNN.

Before the trip, Never Back Down announced that 37 Iowa state legislators were endorsing DeSantis, a show of force that included several people in the party’s leadership. Among those supporting DeSantis are state Senate President Amy Sinclair and state House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl, who are seen as young conservative leaders from rural Iowa.

Shortly after the announcement of the super PACs, a source familiar with the Trump campaign’s plans said the Trump team would release the support of nearly 150 Iowa county leaders and grassroots activists for the former president.

Feenstra said earlier this week that she is sticking with plans to stay out of the primary for now and will not endorse DeSantis at Saturday’s event.

We have great candidates right now and I’m just looking forward to meeting them all, the congressman said. We have so many great things in Iowa, and I’m just showing them around.

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