DES MOINES, Iowa — Former President Donald Trump took repeated shots at Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) while claiming his critics would not be attacking him if he were not a dominant force in the 2024 Republican presidential primary as he appealed to Iowa Republicans to support him next year.
“Unlike the establishment globalists in this race, I’ve been an unwavering warrior for Iowa ethanol,” Trump said Friday during the Iowa Republican Party’s Lincoln Day dinner in Des Moines. “Ron DeSanctus has aggressively gone against ethanol.”
DONALD TRUMP INDICTED: THREE THINGS WE LEARNED IN JACK SMITH’S SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT
Trump was warmly received by the crowd, many of whom yelled that they “loved” him as he lapped up the applause. Moments before, long-shot candidate Will Hurd, a former Texas GOP congressman, was roundly booed when he suggested the only reason Trump was running was to stay out of prison.
“I’m here to deliver a simple message: Iowa’s never had a better friend in the White House than Donald J. Trump,” the former president said, citing his abortion position to his trade policies.
Trump, whose public addresses tend to last for more than an hour, stuck to his script in order to keep his remarks to the 10-minute time limit. But he was certain to describe President Joe Biden as “the most crooked president in the history of our country.”
“They rigged the presidential election in 2020. We’re not going to allow them to rig the presidential election in 2024,” Trump said. “They used COVID to cheat.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“If I weren’t running, I would have nobody coming after me, or if I was losing by a lot, I would have nobody coming after me. They wouldn’t be coming after me,” he added.
Trump has an average of 52% support, DeSantis has 18%, biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has 5%, former Vice President Mike Pence has 5%, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has 4%, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) has 3%, according to RealClearPolitics.
