Global Courant 2023-05-31 23:57:06
SALIX, Iowa — Ron DeSantis made a four-stop blitz across Iowa during his first full day of presidential campaigning on Wednesday, aiming to connect personally with voters as he intensified his criticism of former President Donald Trump.
The Florida governor’s first stop was the floor of Port Neal Welding in Salix, a rural village near Sioux City, in the heart of the most Republican part of the state. Metal structures lined the highway outside the welding shop, including a towering Jesus, a version of the Statue of Liberty, and the Minions.
Republican presidential nominee, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in Salix, Iowa, on May 31, 2023.Charlie Neibergall/AP
DeSantis expressed his efforts to push his state further to the right. But he often rampaged through his 30-minute speech in a professional manner, leaving few pauses for applause from the audience of just over 100 people, some wearing caps with seed company logos.
In an effort to position himself as the most formidable alternative to Trump in the overcrowded Republican White House field, DeSantis did not name the former president in Salix. But he said the Bible emphasized the importance of humility, adding that the country needed leaders who knew how to show humility.
“The tired dogmas of the past are insufficient for a vibrant future. We have to look forward,” said DeSantis. “We can’t look back. We have to have the courage to lead and we have to have the strength to win.”
Later he and his wife, Casey, sat between hydraulic lifts and long welding tables with various metal engine parts. The pair didn’t answer questions, but shared stories about their favorite drive-thru chicken restaurant and their kids — including an incident involving permanent marker drawings on the bathroom walls of the governor’s mansion.
“They just seem really down to earth,” says Bev Lessman, a 70-year-old retired teacher from Sioux City. After she spoke, DeSantis walked through the audience and Lessman put her arms around DeSantis’ neck and told the governor that she felt what seemed to her like the governor’s Christian devotion.
“I told him we can’t force others to live it, but I appreciated how he expressed his faith,” she later said. He replied, “But we can model it,” she said.
“There was a connection,” Lessman added.
Showing a personal touch that resonates with voters is essential to succeeding in states like Iowa. That’s a departure from Florida and its large, expensive media markets where television advertising is often more important than field campaigns given how much ground there is to cover.
DeSantis has subsequent Wednesday appearances in Council Bluffs, Pella and Cedar Rapids as he hosts a series of early events across the state where caucuses kick off the Republican presidential primary. From there, he heads to New Hampshire on Thursday and South Carolina on Friday — two other states that vote early on the primary GOP calendar and where face-to-face interactions with voters are important.
After months of speculation, DeSantis launched his campaign with a glitch-filled online kickoff last week and held his first official Iowa event on Tuesday night to an energetic crowd of about 500 people who gathered at a church in suburban Des Moines. He didn’t mention Trump during his remarks, but when he spoke to reporters afterwards, he pushed back against the former president in a way he hadn’t done on the national scene before.
DeSantis accused Trump of essentially abandoning “America First” principles on immigration, supporting pandemic-related lockdowns related to the coronavirus, and generally “going left” on key issues. And DeSantis laughed off all the criticism the former president had received about his leadership in Florida, especially about the state’s response to Covid-19.
“Damn, his whole family moved to Florida under my governorship,” DeSantis said. “Are you joking?”
The governor opens his campaign and looks up at Trump in the polls. He has also been dogged for months by criticism that, while comfortable on stage and in official settings, he can appear hesitant and awkward when interacting with ordinary Americans.
Kate Romano, 60, of Indianola, Iowa, said she was more impressed with DeSantis than she expected during his Tuesday night performance, calling him energetic and fun to hear. She reluctantly voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, and she’s interested in hearing other candidates.
“I was pleased to hear that he is running against Trump,” said Romano.
Kim Riesberg, 59, said she too has voted for Trump twice, but is not necessarily committed to him this time.
DeSantis is a “little bit softer,” Riesberg of Dallas Center, Iowa, said Tuesday night. And “more appealing to the masses.”
Trump and his allies have unleashed another round of anti-DeSantis attacks, sharing new polls that find the former president the heavy favorite in the GOP race and targeting DeSantis’ leadership during the pandemic. A pro-Trump super-PAC also runs ads on Iowa television accusing DeSantis of trying to raise taxes, which the governor denies.
The feud will have a chance to play out in public as the week progresses.
Trump, who was due to be in Iowa on Thursday, added stops in the state to his Wednesday schedule so he could overlap with DeSantis for a while. Trump will record a radio appearance in Des Moines before attending a GOP legislative dinner.
Meanwhile, DeSantis will be back in Iowa on Saturday for an event for 2024 GOP hopefuls hosted by Senator Joni Ernst. They will be joined by declared candidates, including Senator Tim Scott, RS.C., and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, along with former Vice President Mike Pence, who is expected to launch a campaign soon.
All the traveling will give DeSantis plenty of unscripted moments with voters — and he got a taste of that as he moved through the crowd at the end of the Salix event. Some people approached the governor with specific points, as did Mark Choquette, who questioned DeSantis about his argument that it would take two terms for a president to reform the federal bureaucracy.
“If he doesn’t smash and tear D.C. in the first term, maybe he won’t get a second term and where is he?” asked Choquette, a 76-year-old retired US Marine and Vietnam War veteran. That’s one of the reasons I love Trump. He doesn’t have to worry about his re-election.”
