WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign wants first-time Iowa caucusgoers to come out in force next month in an attempt to end the Republican competition and end the so-so GOP nomination race. soon as it starts.
The plan, which is unique to the Hawkeye State and which campaign officials have dubbed “10 for Trump,” involves the 77-year-old’s surrogates, or “caucus captains,” and targets 10 new caucusgoers each before on January 15.
The former president sometimes calls potential supporters himself to convince them to brave the cold of the Midwest and throw their support behind him, senior campaign officials told reporters Monday at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach. Florida.
According to the RealClearPolitics average, Trump leads his closest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, by 32 percentage points in Iowa.
Since 1972, no Republican candidate has won a contested caucus by more than 12 percentage points, the margin by which Bob Dole defeated Pat Robertson in 1988.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a visit to the Vande Voort family farm, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023, in Leighton, Iowa. AP
“If we set a record, we think it will send a strong message,” a Trump campaign official said.
Of the former president’s main rivals, DeSantis, 45, has devoted the most time and energy to Iowa, visiting all 99 counties in the state and moving dozens of employees there from Florida.
The governor’s campaign has insisted that an unlikely victory in the caucuses would solidify the race as a straight shootout between Trump and DeSantis.
Meanwhile, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley has said only that she needs to “perform well” in the caucuses, as polls show she is closing the gap with Trump in New Hampshire ahead of the U.S. primary. that state of January 23.
Supporters of former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attend a “caucus engagement” event at a whiskey bar in Ankeny, Iowa, on December 2. REUTERS
The former president also spoke to reporters after a round of golf on Monday and said a landslide victory in Iowa would confirm his “strength.”
“It would be a message of strength and respect. “We want to be respected around the world,” Trump said, adding that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had said adversaries like Russia and China were “afraid of Trump.”
“The other thing I would like people to think about is unity,” he added. “It may sound strange, but right before COVID hit, we were united. They were all successful. “It was the most successful period we have ever had in the country.”
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn