Trump runs victory lap in Iowa as DeSantis, Haley drive through blizzards for shot at distant second place
By Social Links for Miranda Devine
Published Jan. 14, 2024, 10:26 p.m. ET
It must be dispiriting to drive through blizzards across Iowa all week only to see Donald Trump drop in at the last minute and effortlessly coast to record poll numbers while pulling a standing-room crowd of passionate voters to his one event Sunday in Indianola.
“I’ve never even given anyone else a second thought,” says truck driver and diehard Trumper Bean Dutcher, 64, of the other Republican presidential candidates.
Wearing his Trump mug shot “Not Guilty” T-shirt and red “We The People Stand with Donald Trump” cap, the Indianola native is Trump or bust.
That’s the grim reality for Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley as they keep grinding away to win over small crowds and compete for second place with roughly one-fifth of the vote apiece.
According to the fabled Des Moines Register caucus eve poll, Trump, 78, is at a record 48%, while Haley, 51, has jumped to second place with 20% and DeSantis, 45, at a demoralizing 16%, despite having put all his eggs in the Iowa basket.
Not that the Florida governor was conceding anything Saturday afternoon when he showed up at his West Des Moines campaign headquarters for a pep rally with 150 volunteers and supporters crammed into the office space.
“I’d much rather be an underdog,” he said, describing the polls as “fake” and not reflective of the enthusiasm his team sees on the ground for what they are pitching as a new generation upgrade of Trump.
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https://nypost.com/2024/01/14/opinion/as-trump-effortlessly-pulls-record-iowa-poll-numbers-desantis-haley-drive-through-blizzards-for-shot-at-second-place/
