WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Eric Trump made an impassioned appeal to caucusgoers in West Des Moines to support his father, former President Donald Trump, as news outlets called the 2024 Republican primary‘s opening nominating contest for him.
“I am here as a son today,” the younger Trump told a three-precinct combined caucus site Monday at the MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex. “As a family guy, he will never stop fighting. He’s the greatest man I’ve ever met. I’ve never met a person with more backbone. To me, personally, he’s been the greatest father in the world.”
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Earlier, Eric Trump greeted caucusgoers as they waited to register, giving out red “Make America Great Again” hats, which have become a token of loyalty to his father and his reelection campaign.
Haley is “basically the same thing” as 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the other Trump said.
The Trump brothers have been crisscrossing Iowa for their father to ensure his supporters turned out at their respective caucus sites for him during a once-in-a-decade cold snap.
Despite the quick call for Donald Trump, the race is still on between Haley and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). Haley has the most to win in Iowa as the former president has dominated polling in the months leading up to the caucuses, making him the overwhelming favorite. However, he faced pressure to overperform as he has previously bragged about being up as much as 60 percentage points as his competitors.
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Opponents seized on that messaging to raise expectations for Donald Trump, contending a performance of less than 50% of the vote would indicate a sense of slowed momentum for his reelection bid.
Eric Trump sought to manage those expectations hours before the caucuses began, suggesting his father only needs to defeat his opponents by double digits and accusing news outlets of “desperately” trying to turn the nomination process into a “horse race.”
