DES MOINES, Iowa — For a number of hours, Ron DeSantis was the highest political draw on the Iowa State Fair.
Mobbed by reporters, cameras and potential supporters, the Florida governor traversed the sprawling fairgrounds with considered one of his daughters atop his shoulders, stopping for images earlier than participating in a political proper of passage right here in Iowa: flipping pork chops.
The second, nevertheless, was fleeting due to the arrival of former President Donald Trump, the clear front-runner within the race for the GOP presidential nomination.
Always the showman, Mr. Trump’s airplane buzzed low above the fairgrounds as Mr. DeSantis labored the grill, triggering shrieks and oohs and aahs of approval from the group.
It was extra of the identical when Mr. Trump entered the fairgrounds with a Secret Service escort and with an entourage of elected leaders from Mr. DeSantis’ house state in tow, together with Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.
The large crowd cheered Mr. Trump on after he hoisted a pork chop on a stick into the air as if it had been a trophy, and signed autographs for supporters.
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“It’s a beautiful day in Iowa,” Mr. Trump informed reporters. “There’s a record crowd, they’ve never had anything even close.”
The Iowa State Fair on Saturday served because the backdrop to a conflict of the titans within the 2024 GOP presidential race.
Mr. Trump has large leads in early state polls, and but there’s a lingering sense that Mr. DeSantis nonetheless has an opportunity to shut the hole and show he’s greatest outfitted to defeat President Biden.
Their dueling appearances overshadowed the opposite candidates in attendance, together with Nikki Haley, former United States ambassador to the United Nations, and Vivek Ramaswamy, the 37-year-old biotech millionaire who has been the most important shock of the race up to now.
Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the longshot Democrats vying in opposition to Mr. Biden for his or her celebration’s nomination, additionally addressed the group.
Mr. Trump and Mr. DeSantis have been on a crash course for months, and the visits to the honest marked the primary time in fairly a while that they had been in the identical place on the similar time.
Both of them have rather a lot driving on the Iowa caucuses.
For Mr. Trump, it’s a probability to point out that he’s with out query the de facto chief of the Republican Party.
For Mr. DeSantis, it’s a probability to point out he has what it takes to cobble collectively a coalition of GOP voters in search of a recent face with a report of accomplishment, and fewer authorized baggage.
Indeed, Mr. Trump’s go to to the honest coincided with information experiences that the Fulton County, Georgia, district lawyer is making ready to hunt greater than a dozen indictments subsequent week in her probe into the efforts of Mr. Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election.
Asked whether or not he tried to overturn the election, Mr. Trump mentioned “You know the answer.”
Speaking on the Steer N’ Stein meals and beverage venue on the honest, Mr. Trump informed his supporters on the honest to “stay strong.”
“We are going to win big,” he mentioned.
Mr. Trump additionally informed reporters he wouldn’t take a plea deal in Georgia if it was provided.
“We did nothing wrong,” he mentioned.
Mr. DeSantis began the day by sitting down with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds for a “Fair-Side Chat” and sharing his imaginative and prescient for the nation.
“I’m running for president because simply managing the decline of our country a little bit better than Democrats isn’t going to cut it,” Mr. DeSantis mentioned. “We must reverse the decline of this country.”
Mr. DeSantis mentioned he has led with “purpose and conviction” as governor of Florida, and mentioned he plans to do the identical factor if elected president.
“The time for excuses for Republicans is over, we must get the job done in 2024,” he mentioned.
Mr. Trump handed on the prospect to take a seat down with Ms. Reynolds. Mr. Trunp criticized Ms. Reynolds for staying impartial within the presidential race and has taken credit score for her win in 2018.
Asked about Mr. Trump’s criticism of Ms. Reynolds, Mr. DeSantis mentioned, “I think Donald Trump’s attacks on Kim Reynolds are totally out of bounds.”
“I couldn’t disagree with it anymore,” he mentioned. “She has never done anything to him, but that is just how he operates.”
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