WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Former President Donald Trump is coming to Iowa.
The leading Republican candidate for president will make a campaign stop in the first-in-the-nation caucus state mid-month, sources say. Exactly when and where remains unsettled.
Trump, who launched his bid for the White House days after November’s midterms, told NewsRadio 1040 WHO talk show host Simon Conway on Tuesday that he would be back in Iowa “very soon.
“We’re planning something,” the 45th president said on the Des Moines-based station, adding that he prefers doing outdoor events, but “it’s a little bit cold.”
“So it will be an indoor event, which, you know, you can’t get as many people in. But it will be great,” Trump said. He added that a formal announcement is expected in the next couple of days.
A Trump campaign aide told the Associated Press Wednesday plans were underway for an upcoming appearance, but declined to provide details about the location or date, beyond the middle of this month.
Sources told The Iowa Star the same.
A representative from the Republican Party of Polk County said Trump’s visit was news to her.
“But we never know,” she said. “It’s like a game of chess.”
State GOP officials said they were waiting on details, too.
Trump has been conspicuously absent from the truly Red State that provided the Republican strong support in 2016 and 2020. He finished second in the 2016 Republican Party caucuses to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX).
He’ll be competing for Iowa once again. Nikki Haley former South Carolina Governor and Trump ambassador to the United Nations, and Ohio entrepreneur and cultural conservative combatant Vivek Ramaswamy recently launched their campaigns for the Republican Party nomination. Major players — former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, U.S Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, and former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — are all contemplating a run.
A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows Trump leading DeSantis in a theoretical two-man race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, 47 percent to 39 percent. The poll of 1,516 registered voters was taken Feb. 23-27 and has a margin of error at plus or minus 2.7 percent.
Trump knows how important Iowa is in setting the tone for the primary/caucus season.
“We’re coming back at least a couple of times before the elections,” he told Conway, adding that he “kept Iowa No. 1.”
“It’s No. 1 on our chart,” the former president said.
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
