Trump's Iowa spectacle clouds DeSantis as he is joined by Florida official

Gone was the helicopter but Donald Trump on Saturday renewed his reputation for defying norms and creating a megacelebritys spectacle at the Iowa State FairTrump in fewer than two hours on the steaming fairgrounds in Des Moines attracted thousands of sweating chanting supporters to his stops at the Iowa Pork Producers tent a baby farm animal exhibit and a popular Grand Concourse pubAll the while Trump notsosubtly tried to set himself apart from Florida Gov Ron DeSantis Trumps main rival with more than five months until Iowas leadoff caucuses and who was on the fairgrounds at the same timeJust as DeSantis and his family were wrapping up their day at the fair meeting with Iowa Republican leaders and activists Trump descended into the huge scrum of backers accompanied by about a dozen Florida US House members a shot at DeSantis who is making an aggressive pitch to Iowa RepublicansTrump spoke little to the public in his short time at the fair except to talk individually to some fairgoers However he repeated during remarks to hundreds crammed into the fair favorite Steer and Stein the disproven claim that the 2020 election was rigged and that we got millions and millions more votesInstead while most candidates seeking caucus support tout Iowa political endorsements Trump spent most of his public remarks introducing Florida lawmakers who travelled with him to Iowa The effort Trump aides said demonstrates feelings of those who know DeSantis best but also clearly stoke outrage among those who feel the former president has ben persecuted with the two federal indictments he now facesSo to all my friends in Iowa when you see them come for this man know that they are coming for this movement and they are coming for all of us said Rep Matt Gaetz RFlaAlso readDeath toll from Maui wildfire reaches 89 making it the deadliest in the US in more than 100 yearsThere was not a trace of concern in the air given the concentration of supporters the range of ages and the sea of Make America Great Again hats about Trumps indictment this month on federal felony changes he worked to overturn the 2020 election in the runup to the violent riot by his supporters at the US Capitol on Jan 6 2021Stopping briefly to talk to reporters he declined to say whether he would comply with a protective order by the judge overseeing the election conspiracy case limiting what the former president can publicly say about evidence in the investigation as he campaignsIll have to take a look at the order Trump said The whole thing is a fake it was put out by Biden because they cant win an election the fair way Asked later whether he would agree to plead guilty to lesser charges Trump called the reporter a wise guy We dont do plea deals he saidIn 2015 as the emerging Republican presidential nominee Trump commanded attention at the fair by offering children rides on his personal helicopter In suit and tie the thenTV celebrity and New York real estate executive cut a far different figure than candidates typically in jeans and cowboy bootsIn just as brazen style Saturday Trumps Boeing 757 circled the fairgrounds ahead of his landing just as DeSantis was participating in the series of oneonone conversations Gov Kim Reynolds is hosting with most GOP candidates and heading with his wife Casey and young children to ride the Ferris wheel and bumper carsIt was one of several episodes this year in Iowa where Trump has sought to outshine DeSantis while both were in the state DeSantis trails Trump in national and Iowa polls but is viewed still early in the race as his strongest potential challenger and has recently accelerated his Iowa outreach in an attempt to land an early blow against the former president who remains extremely popular within the GOP baseTrump sought to soothe tension between him and Reynolds whom Trump criticised for appearing more often with DeSantis who has campaigned in Iowa more often Reynolds who has taken a pledge of neutrality did not appear with Trump on Saturday though Iowa Rep Ashley Hinson greeted Trump at the pork tentBut in addressing the drama with Reynolds Trump repeated his claim that he was responsible for her election Reynolds won a tight race in 2018 after Trump campaigned for her though she won reelection by a much larger margin in 2022 I have a very nice relationship with her he said I got her electedCheers of Trump Trump Trump erupted at the three stops the former president made in a blue suit but this time in an opencollared shirt trudging shouldertoshoulder crowds Though so much of Trumps stop was out of the ordinary at the pork tent he bowed to state fair protocol He held a pork chop on a stick up the the crowd and waved itThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its 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