Former President Donald Trump took the stage at Iowa’s 2023 Lincoln Dinner on Friday evening by embracing his numerous legal battles.
Trump was the final speaker of the night, walking out to Brooks and Dunn’s “Only in America” with the lyrics “One might end up going to prison/ One might just be president” playing.
As Trump took the stage in Iowa, this ironic line played: “One could end up going to prison, one just might be president.”
He had to walk out to Brooks & Dunn (like all candidates tonight) instead of his usual Lee Greenwood. pic.twitter.com/Ial80MXp76
— Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) July 29, 2023
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The song has been used by politicians in the past, including former President George W. Bush, who often used the tune during his reelection campaign in 2004 and during his inauguration. Former President Barack Obama used the song as his exit music at the close of his Democratic convention acceptance speech in 2008.
The American country music duo released the song in 2001 as the second single from the album Steers & Stripes.
The evening held a full slate of Republican presidential candidates, 13 total, including Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).
Some candidates did not shy away from attacking the former president one day after the Department of Justice filed new charges against him over his retention of classified documents discovered at his Florida estate.
“Donald Trump is running for president in order for him to stay out of jail,” former Republican Texas Rep. Will Hurd said earlier in the evening, with some of the crowd erupting into boos.
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DeSantis, who is Trump’s closest revival in the presidential race, stuck to remarks about his campaign, avoiding any attacks on Trump but heavily criticizing the Biden-Harris administration and called out Hunter Biden for his foreign business dealings.
Trump, for his part, used his speech to repeatedly attack Ron “DeSanctus.”