On the trail, freewheeling Donald Trump counters scripted Ron DeSantis
DAVENPORT, IOWA
“Take that picture!”
Donald Trump and a phalanx of Secret Service agents strode into the Machine Shed, a comfort food restaurant on the outskirts of town here, to see a group of diners wearing matching “TRUMP WON” shirts.
“You’re right!” he said, pointing to the shirts, a reference to his false insistence that the 2020 election was stolen from him. He beckoned them over for a photo and flashed a grin.
Trump’s brief drop-in at the restaurant was an unannounced stop on the way to a speech in a packed theater downtown.
After speaking there for over an hour, Trump opened up to questions from the crowd of more than 2,000, from people lined up at microphones or even shouted from their seats.
“I’d just like to ask: Thank you,” one woman said.
“So far I love this question,” Trump deadpanned.
As the former president hits the campaign trail in earnest for the first time since announcing his third White House bid, his campaign is placing a strategic bet on more unscripted, up-close-and-personal moments with his fans.
Trump is leaning into his freewheeling style in no small measure, according to advisers, to draw a contrast with his potential chief rival for the Republican nomination: Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor’s unofficial pre-campaign book tour has consisted of more scripted and stage-managed events, often where the row of cameras that Trump so loves are excluded and the rituals of more intimate politics are limited.
As DeSantis moves closer to entering the race against Trump, the emerging contrast between the two leading Republicans in the polls is more about presentation than ideology. With both seeking to tap into voter grievances with combative messages, they are offering GOP voters two distinct vessels for channeling their anger. There are risks associated with both strategies, as some voters have grown tired of Trump’s antics and say they are drawn to DeSantis’s more streamlined presentation, while others remain excited by Trump’s unpredictability.
Presidential candidates often come to be defined in the eyes of many voters on the basis of personality and relatability.