Source: Politics<\/p>\n
DES MOINES, IOWA \u2014 Nine months ago, Republicans were questioning Donald Trump\u2019s place as the lead fixture of their party. Saturday night provided the clearest evidence yet that they want him right there. <\/p>\n
Not one year removed from surviving a second impeachment, the former president rallied before thousands of his most loyal supporters across the Iowa state fairgrounds on a balmy Midwestern evening. He regaled them with his stories from the White House, his falsehoods and complaints about the 2020 election results, and his criticisms of the Biden administration on everything from immigration to the withdrawal from Afghanistan. <\/p>\n
The bulk of Trump\u2019s speech was devoted to his baseless claim the 2020 election was stolen \u2014 a false belief that was supported by the crowd who broke out into chants of \u201cTrump won! Trump won! Trump won!\u201d <\/p>\n
But the notable elements were not what was said by Trump, but who was there with him. Appearing alongside the ex-president was a who\u2019s who of influential Republicans in the Hawkeye state, including Sen. Chuck Grassley and Gov. Kim Reynolds, Iowa Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson, former acting attorney general Matt Whitaker and Iowa GOP chairman Jeff Kaufmann. <\/p>\n
Trump has held rallies since leaving the White House. But never have elected Republicans of such tenure and stature appeared with him. And the presence of Grassley in particular signified that whatever qualms the GOP may have had with Trump are now faded memories; whatever questions they had about the direction of the party have been resolved. <\/p>\n
Trump himself seemed to recognize as much, as he focused intently on re-litigating the results of the 2020 elections even while admitting his own party members wished he would just move on.<\/p>\n
\u201cSir, think to the future, don\u2019t go back to the past,\u201d Trump said some Republican members of Congress have advised him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m telling you the single biggest issue, as bad as the border is and it\u2019s horrible, horrible what they\u2019re doing they\u2019re destroying our country, but as bad as that is the single biggest issue the issue that gets the most pull, the most respect, the biggest cheers is talking about the election fraud of the 2020 presidential election,\u201d Trump said. <\/p>\n
It was not that long ago when there was more uncertainty about Trump\u2019s future within the party. Back in January, Grassley offered a stinging condemnation for Trump\u2019s behavior in the aftermath of the 2020 election \u2014 the type of statement that, at its heart, suggested a desire to rid himself of the messiness. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is, he lost. He brought over 60 lawsuits and lost all but one of them. He was not able to challenge enough votes to overcome President Biden\u2019s significant margins in key states,\u201d Grassley said in a statement offered after voting against Trump\u2019s second impeachment. \u201cHe belittled and harassed elected officials across the country to get his way. He encouraged his own, loyal vice president, Mike Pence, to take extraordinary and unconstitutional actions during the Electoral College count.\u201d <\/p>\n
But Grassley is in a different place now. He recently announced, at age 88, that he is running for an eighth term. And with it, Trump has gone from nuisance to needed. <\/p>\n
This week, Grassley and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee released a report that claimed Trump\u2019s reported pressure on the Department of Justice to change election results was not just overblown but consistent with the commitments of the office of the president to uphold the constitution. And on Saturday night, Trump brought Grassley on stage to offer his \u201ccomplete and total endorsement for re-election.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I didn\u2019t accept the endorsement of a person that\u2019s got 91 percent of the Republican voters in Iowa, I wouldn\u2019t be too smart,\u201d Grassley said. <\/p>\n
For Trump, this is a wonderful gift. The ex-president has been openly discussing the likelihood that he will run for president again. To be greeted with open arms in the all-important, first-in-the-nation presidential caucus state of Iowa was a flashing-neon light signal to voters that this party remains his. And he\u2019s done it all while still launching broadsides against current leadership (he eviscerated Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell at various points on Saturday for striking a deal with Democrats to raise the debt ceiling and for not having the \u201ccourage to challenge the election\u201d) and without offering a morsel of remorse for how his presidency ended. <\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s the difference. Hillary [Clinton] conceded. I never conceded. No reason to concede,\u201d Trump said to a cheering crowd. <\/p>\n
For the faithful who gathered on Saturday night, Trump\u2019s place atop the GOP was never really a matter of dispute. Over a dozen supporters interviewed said they were counting on him to run again in 2024. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur country is in a downturn and we need to bring it back up and keep us on the right track,\u201d said Judy Williamson from Mount Pleasant, Iowa. \u201cBiden, I\u2019m worried about his mental capacities. I\u2019m not sure he\u2019s doing well mentally.\u201d <\/p>\n
When asked if he thinks Trump should run again, Jason Latimer from State Center, Iowa, replied, \u201che already is, that\u2019s why we are here.\u201d Citing the border and the economy, he said Trump should run \u201cto get the country back where it was.\u201d A man standing next to him chimed in, \u201cand to show the world we are back again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thousands of Iowans packed into the state fair grounds 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 had a favorable view of Trump \u2014 higher approval ratings than he ever had while in the White House. <\/p>\n
\u201cAbsence makes the hearts grow fonder,\u201d said Jeff Kaufmann, the Iowa Republican Party chairman of Trump\u2019s popularity ahead of his visit. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t mean to be crude,\u201d Kaufmann said. But Trump to many Iowans represents \u201cthe middle finger to doing things the same old way, to the fat cats and the corporate welfare that Democrats now support and Republicans supported in the past. He represents an exasperation \u2014 people saying enough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Trump has not officially announced a run for president, his visit to Iowa is a wink towards a 2024 bid. And the ground game he has built gives him a significant leg up over other 2024 hopefuls. Trump hired two full time operatives in the state to work on Save America outreach, Alex Latcham, a longtime operative in the state, and Eric Branstad, who worked for both of Trump\u2019s previous campaigns and is the son of Republican Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who also served as Trump\u2019s ambassador to China.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a love for Iowa,\u201d said Branstad. \u201cThe movement in Iowa has always been real from the very moment he started and he spent so much time here doing rallies.\u201d <\/p>\n
But while Trump has begun to take concrete steps to assert his position atop the shadow 2024 field, not everyone is sure he\u2019s the best Republican to nominate.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day it\u2019s about can you win and that\u2019s the question that even Trump is going to have among some of his most loyal base, about if can he win in 2024 and is America willing to have him back,\u201d said Bob Van Der Plaats, an influential conservative and evangelical leader in the state. <\/p>\n
Van Der Plaats noted the warm reception Iowans have had to 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 U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), and Tom Cotton (R-Ak.), and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and others have visited Iowa. Trump has been paying attention to their movements, but one aide said so far his team is unconcerned. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, we really don\u2019t have to [pay attention to the others],\u201d one aide said. \u201cEvery farm across the state, if you\u2019re to travel on any rural highway, it\u2019s Trump Country. The polls show it. The people show it. The action shows it. They are coming out of the woodwork for Trump.\u201d <\/p>\n