Rick Santorum reveals how candidates can ‘wound’ the ‘800-pound gorilla’ Trump after he stunned the U.S. with underdog victory in the 2012 Iowa Republican caucus

Twelve years ago, Rick Santorum pulled off one of the most dramatic upsets in political history by spending months driving around Iowa in a friend’s pickup truck and talking to everyone he met.

In the run-up to the Iowa caucuses, he spent just $23,000 on TV advertising, was stuck in the single digits in the polls and was roundly ignored by the so-called experts.

But somehow, in a late wave, he upended the political establishment, humiliating big names in the Republican Party like Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

In 2024, other campaigns would kill for a bit of Santorum magic as they languish in the wake of Donald Trump.

The former Iowa winner told DailyMail.com that if anyone wants to catch Trump, it will be about last-minute energy.

‘I used to do seven, eight, nine events a day. Just, you know, buzzing from city to city and trying to reach as many people as possible to build that enthusiasm,” Santorum said.

“Make sure the leaders of your caucus and the people you count on are energized to come out.

‘The weather will be terrible on Monday. I mean, it would have to be brutally cold. When you complete the process, you show energy and enthusiasm. Being everywhere. It’s important to get this thing across the finish line.”

According to an average of recent polls, Trump is at 61 percent, while Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley are both at 11 percent.

Santorum said, “I think there is a big difference in this race that sets it apart from 2012. The biggest difference is that we are essentially dealing with an incumbent president.

“I think it was much easier for Romney and Gingrich voters to look at me than it was for Trump voters to flip the Haley or DeSantis.”

“All the martyrdom that the Justice Department has exerted on the president across the country has made him an even more sympathetic figure and has helped solidify his support. So it’s just a much more difficult task. It’s just a much more persistent Trump voter.

“So the answer is, I think it’s a lot less likely. I think the chances of DeSantis attempting to outdo Trump this past week seem like a bridge too far. I don’t think he’s close enough.’

Like Santorum, DeSantis has visited all 99 counties in Iowa, and the 2012 winner said the Florida governor “put in the time.”

He said the key would be the Des Monies Register newspaper’s poll, which will be released on Saturday evening.

“If DeSantis gets within 10 points, I think there’s a chance of an upset,” he said. ‘The Register Survey helped me. Because it showed that I was making this wave, I think it strengthened the wave because people thought this guy could win.”

He added: “I think at this point it certainly looks like he (Trump) is going to win. But the most important thing to watch is whether Trump is underperforming or overperforming.”

Santorum said that if his rivals can keep Trump below 50 percent, they could leave Iowa, arguing that this was a “weak performance for a sitting president” and that he is no longer an “insurmountable force.” It would be a ‘kink in the armor’.

‘You’re creating even more doubt. he could be very injured. He would be the 800 pound gorilla that is now extra small and not what he used to be.

“And that creates an opportunity that makes for a much longer race, because there is enough money available to finance someone who can fight Trump to the end.”

In 2012, Santorum drove through the corn fields of Iowa in a rental car, then in a silver 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup.

Wearing his signature sweater vest, he hosted nearly 400 events across the state, including single-voter events.

It was the personal time he spent with voters that won him statehood, he said.

“One thing I’ve always found is that Iowans want to connect,” he said. ‘And it’s hard to connect when you’re with a large entourage and look like a treated candidate.

“It’s one thing if you’re a Donald Trump and a billionaire celebrity. Then you can make that happen, because that’s who you are. But it’s different. If you have a former governor or current governor or whatever, you’re not a star, you’re not a celebrity. You have to connect on a different level.

‘I had none of the trappings of office. I was also very clear about my positions, especially with evangelical voters, about where I stood and what I was going to do. And I think a lot of these candidates haven’t been as clear on the issues as they could not have been.

He said candidates should talk about their faith and “let people in” to see “what makes them tick.”

“I think voters in Iowa in particular would like to see that and be motivated by that,” he said.

In 2012, Santorum was denied the momentum of an election victory in Iowa.

The initial result was that Romney had won by eight votes. But two weeks later it was announced that Santorum had indeed won.

He went on to win a string of other states, but ultimately dropped out of the race in April and Romney became the Republican nominee, losing to Barack Obama in the 2012 general election.