Trump, recalling 2016, presses Iowa backers
DES MOINES — As former president Donald Trump campaigned in Iowa in the fall, he projected the utmost confidence. He told his supporters during speeches that his advisers had constantly warned him not to take the state for granted. Buoyed by his dominance in state polls, Trump insisted he had no reason to worry.
“We’re going to win the Iowa caucuses in a historic landslide,” Trump predicted in speeches in September and October.
But as he returned to Iowa last month, with the state’s caucuses on Jan. 15 fast approaching, Trump injected a note of concern. Though he retained his confidence, he warned his supporters of complacency.
“The poll numbers are scary, because we’re leading by so much,” Trump said Dec. 19 in Waterloo during his final trip to Iowa of 2023. “The key is, you have to get out and vote.”
“Don’t sit home and say, ‘I think we’ll take it easy, darling. It’s a wonderful day, beautiful. Let’s just take it easy, watch television and watch the results,’ ” Trump later added. “No, because crazy things can happen.”
With just two weeks until Iowa’s first-in-the-nation nominating contest, Trump’s campaign is dedicated to meeting high expectations and avoiding a repeat of 2016, when Trump came in second in Iowa despite being ahead in polls.
But while his Republican rivals are more focused on knocking on doors and swaying minds, Trump and his campaign have directed their efforts toward teaching supporters how to caucus and recruiting a grass-roots network to help guarantee they show up.
“We already have the votes to win,” one aide said. “All we have to do is turn them out.”
The campaign has focused much of its effort on enlisting and training its most ardent supporters to become “caucus captains” who can help recruit other Trump supporters to be present at caucus sites and to speak on Trump’s behalf.