Former President Donald Trump is set to rain on Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) 2024 Iowa campaign blitz.
Trump will head to the Hawkeye State Wednesday and huddle with local officials and grassroots supporters before participating in a town hall hosted by Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Thursday. Meanwhile, DeSantis is slated to hold a campaign kickoff event in Des Moines Tuesday evening, followed by a four-city Iowa blitz on Wednesday.
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For Trump, Wednesday’s trip will also feature an interview with Simon Conway of 1040 WHO Des Moines, according to his campaign. Then on Thursday, Trump will headline the Westside Conservative Breakfast in Urbandale and huddle with local faith leaders in Des Moines.
DeSantis’s four-city swing will encompass stops in Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Pella, and Cedar Rapids. On Thursday, he will travel to New Hampshire before barnstorming South Carolina on Friday.
The governor publicly announced his campaign last week with a glitch-plagued Twitter Spaces rollout. He is widely regarded as Trump’s top GOP primary threat but trails him by over 30 points in the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.
DeSantis recently opted to join Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) at the lawmaker’s annual “Roast and Ride” event in Des Moines, Iowa, this weekend.
During his previous stops in Iowa, DeSantis has praised the state’s policy, dubbing his home state of Florida as the “Iowa of the southeast.” He has compared other early states, such as New Hampshire, to Florida as well.
Trump lost Iowa to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in the 2016 primary. His campaign appears to be taking steps to prevent a repeat of that in 2024.
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“Under Ron DeSanctimonious as Governor, Florida was the third WORST State in Deaths by Covid. So why do they say that DeSanctus did a good job? New York had fewer deaths! Also, he shut down the State, and even its beaches (unlike other Republican Governors),” Trump wrote on Truth Social around the time of the campaign announcement.
DeSantis has rebuffed Trump’s criticisms, countering that they come from the Left, and has knocked him for retaining Dr. Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic.
