Former President Donald Trump, who is leading polls in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, joined other GOP candidates at the annual event, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Other GOP candidates in Iowa are entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley. Democratic challengers of President Biden — author Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., also made an appearance at the fair.
The Iowa State Fair, which extends from Aug. 11 to Aug. 18, has long been seen as a mainstay in presidential campaigns and an opportunity for presidential candidates to court voters.
Trump’s visit was likely an attempt to overshadow DeSantis’s efforts to reset his campaign. The Hill’s Caroline Vakil reported from the event in Des Moines, Iowa.
The recap is below:
2024 candidates will resume Iowa State Fair appearanes on Tuesday
On Tuesday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will host “fair-side” chats with former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
The Iowa State Fair ends on Aug. 18.
DeSantis: Trump’s attacks on Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds are ‘totally out of bounds’
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds from former President Trump’s recent attacks, saying the former president is “totally out of bounds.”
“I think that Donald Trump’s attacks on Kim Reynolds are totally out of bounds,” DeSantis said at the Iowa State fair Saturday.
Reynolds has appeared alongside every Republican candidate at the fair so far — including DeSantis — except for Trump.
Trump criticized the Iowa governor last month after she appeared at campaign events with DeSantis and said she will not endorse a candidate before the Iowa Caucus in January.
— Nick Robertson
Haley joins list of 2024 candidates flipping meat on the grill in Iowa
GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley takes her turn as the grill-master alongside Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst.
— Caroline Vakil
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna touts crowd of Trump supporters in Iowa
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who traveled to Iowa alongside former President Trump, touted the size of the group that came to support Trump at the State Fair.
“The crowds for 47 @TeamTrump were incredible,” she wrote. “The crowds were so large fair goers could not get within 10 blocks of the fair.”
“Trump 2024! Iowa don’t forget to vote on Jan 15 for TRUMP!” the congresswoman added.
See her post here.
Haley tries out Thrillville’s basketball
Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, her son and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) seemed to really enjoy the Iowa State Fair.
The trio traveled around the fairgrounds playing games.
See below:
Haley calls mental health a “cancer” in the U.S.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley called the issue of mental health a “cancer“ in the country.
“Mental health is the cancer America has refused to deal with,“ Haley said at the political soapbox.
“We have to treat it for the cancer it is. We have to take on mental health for the sake of our kids, for the sake of our parents for the sake of our veterans,” she added later.
— Caroline Vakil
Trump blasts Democrats for legal fees ahead of Iowa trip
Former President Trump on Saturday blasted Democrats for the “vast amounts of money” his 2024 campaign is spending on legal fees.
Ahead of his Iowa appearance, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to place blame on the left.
“The Lunatic Left, working closely with Crooked Joe Biden and his corrupt DOJ, is not only focusing on Election Interference, but on getting the Trump Campaign to spend vast amounts of money on legal fees, thereby having less to spend on ads showing that Crooked Joe is the WORST PRESIDENT IN U.S. HISTORY!” he posted.
— Julia Shapero
Haley takes stage as last GOP soapbox speaker today
Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley took the stage at the political soapbox this afternoon, the last candidate to speak today.
Florida House Republicans visit with Trump
Members of the Florida GOP congressional delegation who are backing former President Trump in the GOP primary visited the state fair alongside Trump.
Among the members spotted, they included Florida GOP Reps. Cory Mills, Byron Donalds and Matt Gaetz.
Trump visits Steer N’ Stein during Iowa trip
Former President Trump made a second campaign stop on Saturday at the Steer N’ Stein restaurant in Des Moines, Iowa.
During his visit, he told supporters to “stay strong,” even amid his mounting legal woes.
“Stay strong. We are going to win big,” he said. “We are going to Make America Great Again.”
The line to get into the restaurant wrapped around the building, according to social media posts.
Trump draws in large crowd at Iowa State Fair
Former President Trump has drawn in large crowds so far during his visit to the Iowa State Fair.
During his visit to the Hawkeye State, Trump will be joined later by Florida Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Byron Donalds, Matt Gaetz, Carlos Jimenez, Anna Paulina Luna, Bian Mast, Cory Mills, Greg Steube and Mike Waltz.
— Caroline Vakil and Sarah Fortinsky
DeSantis in Iowa calls special counsel in Hunter Biden case a ‘sham’
DeSantis on Saturday claimed the investigation into Hunter Biden, the president’s son, is going to be a “total sham,” following U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss’ appointment as special counsel.
“The House, they’ve been working on supposedly holding Hunter Biden accountable,” DeSantis told reporters at the Iowa State Fair.
“And like, I don’t know what these guys are doing, but I think this special counsel, I think they’re trying to checkmate that investigation.”
— Julia Shapero
Christie: DeSantis ‘sounds like a really angry guy’
Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie said on Friday that GOP rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, “sounds like a really angry guy” and questioned whether he “cares about healing the divide” in the country.
“He sounds like a really angry guy,” Christie said at a WMUR town hall in New Hampshire. “He’s squinting his eyes all the time and pissed about something, you know. So, I’m skeptical, right. I’m skeptical that somebody who’s that angry cares about healing the divide or has the ability to do it.”
Christie has largely focused his efforts on the Granite State instead of Iowa, where he is notably absent from this weekend’s state fair, which has drawn many of the other GOP candidates.
— Julia Shapero
Trump heads to the grill at the state fair
Former President Trump and Florida House Republicans who have endorsed him for 2024 are heading to the grill at their first stop at the Iowa State Fair.
— Caroline Vakil
Trump lands in Iowa ahead of State Fair appearance
Former President Trump lands in Des Moines, Iowa ahead of his Iowa State Fair visit.
While Trump is still the clear frontrunner in the primary, polling has suggested a decline in his lead in Iowa. He is also not participating in a fireside chat with Gov. Kim Reynolds — likely related to recent turmoil between the two.
Read about it here.
— Brett Samuels
Ramaswamy rails against US-China relations: ‘We can not depend on an enemy’
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy said he would radically change the U.S. relationship with China if elected, saying the U.S. is “addicted” to Chinese products.
In a fireside chat with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday, Ramaswamy said he would sign a “Declaration of Independence” from China.
“We can not depend on an enemy for our modern way of life,” he said. “We never depended on the USSR for the shoes on our feet or the phones in our pocket, we just didn’t. Today we depend on Communist China for the way we live our lives.”
Read full story here.
— Nick Robertson
DeSantis heckled by members of crowd: ‘We love Trump’
As DeSantis was flipping pork chops, some in the crowd heckled the governor, cheering “We love Trump.”
Others joined in silently with “Trump won” hats or signs.
Someone also flew above the fairgrounds with a banner that reads “Be likeable, Ron!”
Read more here.
— Caroline Vakil and Tara Suter
DeSantis joins Reynolds, Iowa lawmakers at sideline barbecue
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was spotted on Saturday flipping pork chops with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Rep. Zach Nunn and others.
Sen. Joni Ernst also attended the sideline barbecue at the Iowa State Fair.
— Caroline Vakil
DeSantis family enjoys festivities at Iowa State Fair
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was joined at the Iowa State Fair by his wife, Casey DeSantis, and kids.
A swarm of people followed the family as they enjoyed the festivities.
— Caroline Vakil
Ramaswamy: Special counsel in Hunter Biden case is a ‘total fig leaf’
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy criticized U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss’ appointment as special counsel in the Hunter Biden investigation on Saturday, dismissing it as a “total fig leaf.”
“On the face of it, it would make sense and it’s a good thing to have a special counsel appointed,” Ramaswamy said on Fox News during a campaign stop in Iowa. “The problem is that this is a total fig leaf. It is a distraction.”
The GOP hopeful noted that Weiss, who has been overseeing the investigation into the president’s son since 2018, negotiated the plea deal with the president’s son earlier this year that was widely criticized by Republicans as a “sweetheart” deal.
— Julia Shapero
DeSantis takes the stage as he heads for fireside chat
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joins Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on stage for the fireside chat.
DeSantis said Thursday that he expects to visit all 99 counties in Iowa by the end of October as his campaign hones in on the early caucus state.
Watch livestream here.
— Caroline Vakil
Haley greets fairgoers as she leaves the stage
Haley, who wore an “underestimate me, that’ll be fun” t-shirt today, stops to chat with a fairgoer on her way out after the fireside chat with Gov. Kim Reynolds.
The former South Carolina governor is now selling the shirts on her website.
“Underestimate @NikkiHaley at your own risk,” she said on her campaign account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, with a link to purchase.
— Caroline Vakil
Haley takes jab at GOP rivals for flying private
Former U. N. ambassador Nikki Haley took a jab at her 2024 GOP rivals for flying private.
“I think I’m one of the only candidates flying commercial.The rest of them are flying private,” Haley said.
Talking about the difficulties of travel logistics, she quipped she was looking forward to firing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigkeg.
Haley touts foreign policy experience in fireside chat
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley touted her foreign policy experience during her fire-side chat with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Haley touted her experience as ambassador, saying that she was the only one in the GOP primary that has negotiated with China and Russia.
During her speech, she also vowed to defund sanctuaries cities if elected President.
— Caroline Vakil and Nick Robertson
Haley takes the stage with Reynolds
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley takes the stage alongside Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds for the second fire-side chat today.
Ramaswamy raps to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy ended his fire-side chat by rapping to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.”
WATCH:
Ramaswamy says he’ll cut 75 percent of federal employee workforce
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy said if he was elected president, he would drastically reduce the federal employee workforce.
Speaking alongside Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, he said he would have 75 percent “headcount reduction,“ with 50 percent eliminated alone in the first year.
Ramaswamy calls “climate change agenda” “a hoax”
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy said that the ”climate change agenda” is largely a “hoax” as he spoke with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Read story here.
— Caroline Vakil and NIck Robertson
‘Liar,’ ‘loser,’ a ‘national security threat’: Hurd rips into Trump
Republican presidential hopeful and former Texas Rep. Will Hurd ripped into former President Trump on Friday, calling him a “liar,” “loser” and “national security threat.”
Hurd, who has been sharply critical of the former president throughout his campaign, argued on PBS’ “Firing Line with Margaret Hoover” that the GOP needs to “be honest” about Trump if they want to win the 2024 presidential election.
“Donald Trump is a liar. Donald Trump is a loser. And Donald Trump is a national security threat to the United States of America,” Hurd said. “And we need to be honest about that. And if we nominate him, if the GOP nominates him, then we’re giving Joe Biden and Kamala Harris four more years.”
The former Texas congressman pointed to a recent event in Iowa, where he was booed by a crowd of Republicans after saying that Trump is “running for president to stay out of prison.”
“I was recently in Iowa and spoke at a group that had a lot of Donald Trump supporters, and I had to break the news to them that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election,” Hurd said. “Some folks were not happy with me being honest, but guess what, it had to be said.”
— Julia Shapero
Ramaswamy takes the stage with Reynolds
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy takes the stage for the first fire-side chat with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds today.
Starts off speaking about reviving national identity in the U.S.
