Here’s the latest from the 2024 campaign trail:
- Republicans held events across Iowa today, including former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
- Trump held two rallies on Saturday after also holding events in the state on Friday. The former president has spent minimal time in the state compared to his challengers.
- President Joe Biden had initially been scheduled to deliver a speech today, but rescheduled after snow was forecast for the East Coast on Saturday.
Trump calls for Jan. 6 rioters to be released from prison
Trump brought up the rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 who remain in prison, many who pled guilty or were convicted by a jury and sentenced to serve time behind bars. Trump called them "hostages" and called on Biden to release them from federal prison.
"They ought to release the J6 hostages. They’ve suffered," Trump said, using the abbreviation for Jan. 6. "I call them hostages. Some people call them prisoners. I call them hostages. Release the J6 hostages Joe. Release them Joe. You can do it real easy, Joe."
Trump has suggested that if returned to the White House he would pardon those who have been charged in connection with the riot.
Trump says DeSantis would have ended up working at a pizza joint without his endorsement
Trump went on a lengthy explanation about how he endorsed DeSantis in the 2018 Florida governor's race. His conclusion: Without his backing, DeSantis might have ended up working at a pizza place. Or a law firm.
DeSantis says Trump doesn't keep promises
At DeSantis’ final event, where everything so far has been pretty par for the course, he was joined for the first time by Bob Vander Plaats and criticized Trump for not following through on promises.
“I believe in following through on your commitments and your promises. He didn’t do that ... not building the wall, elevating Fauci … there’s a lot of reasons why he should not be the nominee going forward," DeSantis said.
Trump says he was more than 3 hours late because of plane problems
Trump was more than 3 hours late for his second rally of the day — a delay he told the audience once he arrived was caused by problems with a plane his campaign had chartered to take him between events.
Instead of flying on his own jet, Trump said his campaign had suggested using a smaller plane to save time but the plane had problems and delayed his arrival.
Trump barely mentions Jan. 6 on third anniversary of assault on the Capitol
Former President Donald Trump barely mentioned the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol as he rallied supporters in Iowa on Saturday, but his speech was centered on countering President Joe Biden’s argument that the riot and Trump’s broader effort to overturn the 2020 election represent a grave threat to the republic.
“This guy goes around and says I’m a threat to democracy,” Trump said. “He’s a threat to democracy. ... You know, you can be grossly incompetent and be a threat to democracy.”
Trump faces federal election interference charges stemming from his well-documented campaign to stay in office after he lost. His efforts culminated in his loyalists assaulting police officers, storming the Capitol and hunting for lawmakers in a failed attempt to prevent electoral votes from being tallied on Jan. 6, 2021.
Voters quiz Ramaswamy about conspiracy theories
Voters at events today asked Ramaswamy about Covid-related conspiracy theories.
“My husband was killed in the hospital,” said an emotional elderly woman to Ramaswamy during the Q&A portion of the town hall. “He was murdered because he had not got the vaccine,” she added, before claiming doctors purposefully killed him by pumping him up with other medicines because he refused to get vaccinated.
Moments earlier, a woman asked Ramaswamy, “I have a lot of concerns, sir. One of them is Bill Gates. How are you going to control him?” Then, after listing off a second question, she remembered a third: “Did I say Epstein’s Island?”
“Well, it kind of relates to the first one,” quipped Ramaswamy.
Trump tells supporters ‘we have to get over it’ after Iowa school shooting
Former President Donald Trump on Friday extended condolences following a school shooting in Iowa this week that left one dead and seven wounded before urging supporters to “move forward.”
“I want to send our support and our deepest sympathies to the victims and families touched by the terrible school shooting yesterday in Perry, Iowa,” Trump said during a campaign rally.
“It’s just horrible, so surprising to see it here. But have to get over it, we have to move forward,” he added.
Haley launches ad featuring well-known Iowa conservative
Haley has a new ad airing in Iowa featuring Marlys Popma.
Popma announced her endorsement at a Haley town hall in November. Popma has worked on four presidential campaigns and has worn many organizational hats — including being the two-time president of Iowa Right to Life.
"Nikki will keep the radical left from ruining our culture," she says in the ad. "She won’t let boys play girls’ sports, and she’ll stop the assault on our values. Nikki’s a sister in Christ. She has guts. Nikki Haley will make us proud."
DeSantis does retail in Cedar Rapids
DeSantis held back-to-back retail stops in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with Reps. Thomas Massie and Chip Roy, first at Tommy’s West Restaurant and then at the Never Back Down field office, where he briefly shook hands and rushed to his next event in Ankeny.
Both Massie and Roy pitched DeSantis as a better alternative than Trump to the crowd of roughly 200 people gathered at Tommy’s West Restaurant. Both congressmen described instances in which Trump in their view made poor decisions, including his embrace of Anthony Fauci, and the spending bills passed during his administration.
Republicans cast doubt on whether Biden can win legitimately in 2024
A number of the Republican presidential candidates are refusing to commit to accepting the results of the 2024 election if President Joe Biden wins.
NBC News and The Des Moines Register sat down with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy this week in Iowa and asked all three of them if they would accept a Biden victory in November.
In particular, DeSantis’ and Ramaswamy’s reluctance to readily accept the possibility that Biden could achieve a legitimate victory reflects the continuing hold on the GOP of former President Donald Trump’s unfounded belief that the 2020 election was stolen from him — three years after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to try to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s win.
