Iowa Dispatch, Day 2

Trump, DeSantis, zombies oh my

Sunday with the #DUinIowa crowd was a very packed (and cold) day. After a hearty breakfast at the Drake Diner, we drove down to Indianola for a Donald Trump rally. In contrast to the more intimate Hutchinson rally the day before, of course, Trump rallies are large media events, and we got relegated to an overflow room (although several of my students were wily enough to find their way into the main room).

It has been a long time since I’ve watched a Trump speech from start to finish. None of the material was particularly new or surprising — he boasted of his work as president, complained about Biden and his rival Republicans, read the snake poem, etc. (One somewhat surprising moment was North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who dropped out of the presidential race only recently, coming to the stage to endorse Trump.) But what rather struck me was that Trump was plenty energetic and coherent, but that he just rambles. He had maybe 15 minutes worth of material that he stretched to nearly two hours by just going down one tangent after the next.

I had several fascinating conversations with my students after the event. Several, even those who truly do not like the man, said that they found him charismatic, and said that the event helped them understand his appeal to others.

There were a couple of hecklers. One of our students, Dylan Lindsey, happened to be right near a heckler, who was quickly roughed up and shoved into a seat. Dylan got it on film.

We then had a visit to Zombie Burger, where we met with Will Rogers, a former county GOP chair who is now with the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce. He gave students all sort of insights about the caucus process and offered some career advice about public service and lobbying.

Then it was off to the Ron DeSantis rally in Ankeny. We got to see the Never Back Down bus. And we had good seats toward the front.

One thing that struck me about the event was the energy in the room. The polling showing the enthusiasm of DeSantis’ Iowa supporters was well reflected in this crowd. They were fired up. The Boomer rock was loud (though the use of “Don’t Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow)” was politically unforgivable). They were dancing. Joni Ernst, Thomas Massie, Chip Roy, and Kim Reynolds spoke energetically — hitting Trump rather hard on his Covid policies. And then DeSantis came out.

One thing of note: Effective use of family. The kids were cute and softened his edges. For a short time.

His public speaking style was better than you’d think from just watching debate clips and news segments. He did a fair amount of scapegoating (mainly, though not exclusively, of the trans community), but mostly advocated his case well. And then came the Q&A portion. The questions were mostly fairly anodyne, but one young woman student raised her hand and asked a question referencing the recent school shooting in Perry, Iowa, asking him what he was going to do about gun violence. This is, near as I can recollect, the exact exchange that followed:

Ron DeSantis: Where are you from?

Student: The West Coast.

RD: [sarcastically] What are you doing in Iowa?

S: Learning.

RD: You’re learning propaganda.

Crowd: [cheers, then boos student]

RD: [To crowd] Do any Iowans have questions?

This struck me and my students as shockingly and needlessly harsh. There have been quite a few out-of-state students at these events — Senator Ernst even made a point of welcoming political tourists and inviting them to spend money. Students have asked reasonable questions and generally candidates have been pretty congenial about answering them. And it wouldn’t have been particularly challenging for DeSantis to spend 15 seconds on why the shooting was a tragedy and how he values the Second Amendment. Anyway, it was a moment.

More tomorrow, which will bring the actual caucus night!