After a week when snow blizzards and life-threatening temperatures laid siege on Iowa, Donald Trump returned to the state this weekend for an eleventh-hour appearance in which he reinforced his position as the Republican Party front-runner in the state.
The former US president holds a daunting position in all pre-caucuses polls and at a rally in Indianola on Sunday, he urged a euphoric gathering of supporters to turn out and vote in Monday night’s caucuses, which will take place at 7pm at precincts in all 99 counties. It will be coldest caucuses night on record, with temperatures of minus 28 degrees forecast, and the ferocious wind-chill is almost certain to impact the number of Iowans who attend their caucuses.
Saturday’s Des Moines Register poll indicated a slight dip in Mr Trump’s vote, with Nikki Haley on course to eclipse Ron DeSantis as the closest challenger. But if the 48 per cent support for Trump is reflected in the caucuses count on Monday night, it will confirm his grip on the mindset of the swelling number of Republican voters who regardhim as a returning visionary.
“It’s far more than a campaign,” Mr Trump told the crowd.
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“It’s a greater political campaign in the history of our country. DeSantis had a speech today when nine people turned up and he blamed the weather. I have never seen spirit like we have now. The Washington swamp has done everything in its power to take away your voice but tomorrow is your time to speak your mind. Once you set foot on that caucus site, the entire country will be listening to you.”
Wearing a white peaked cap emblazoned with Trump Precinct Captain and the trademark red tie, Mr Trump stood on the podium at Simpson College while God Bless The USA, the 1984 country hit by Lee Greenwood, played in its entirety. Many of his supporters arrived early and stood in the bitter early morning freeze until the doors opened in advance of a noon-time speech in which Mr Trump riffed for well over 90 minutes on familiar themes.
His delivery moved from the weakness of his opponents to the liberal conspiracies to his plans to the decline of Washington, the capital city, which he described, towards the end of his speech as “a rat-infested, graffiti-infested sh*thole”.
He issued a series of broadsides on his political opponents, likening Nikki Haley to president Joe Biden, telling the crowd that they are “both backed by warmongers by left-wing Wall Street millionaires and billionaires who crave to destroy the MAGA movement”.
At one stage, a climate-change protester interrupted Mr Trump’s talk by shouting, “you took millions” before her voice was drowned out by further chants of “USA”.
Mr Trump jumped from subject to subject, but the general theme of his message established a confrontational intent as the election year ahead gathers pace.
“We will throw off the sick political class, we will rout the fake news media and evict crooked Joe Biden from the White House in 2024. Under our leadership the forgotten man and woman will be forgotten no longer. We will love our country.”
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