Donald Trump spent the first half of Monday holed up in his Des Moines, sending an army of MAGA supporters from Congress to help Iowans at the caucuses.
The temperature hovered around 2 degrees when Trump left his Des Moines hotel, but with a warning in effect, the wind chill made it feel like -14. Trump wore his usual wool overcoat, although longtime aide Dan Scavino posted an altered image of the former president bundled up in a parka, urging Iowans to come to the caucuses.
Trump had his political surrogates across the state after a snowstorm sidelined his rally on Saturday.
Several of them posed for quick videos in front of the snowy Iowa terrain, including Texas GOP Rep. Ronny Johnson, who cleared some snow blocking a Trump road sign.
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who is also campaigning for Trump here, posted photos with his wife Ginger in Fort Dodge.
“This guy from Florida is freezing his ass off here in Iowa, but we are going to win these caucuses for President Trump,” he said in an online post.
“This guy from Florida is freezing his ass out here,” said GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, who traveled with his wife Ginger in support of Donald Trump.
Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who like most Iowans was snowed in when the snowstorm hit the state on Saturday, is also campaigning for Trump, as is Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Lake, Gaetz, Greene and Ohio Reps. Jim Jordan all campaigned for Trump at a brewery in Fort Dodge.
Trump is unquestionably the leader in congressional endorsements, although President Joe Biden has tried to use some of his “ultra MAGA” supporters against him.
Bundle up! Trump aide Dan Scavino posted an altered image of Trump wearing a parka in the snow and urged Iowans to rally Monday night
Representative Ronny Jackson posted a photo of himself in the snow near a Trump sign
Marjorie Taylor Greene and other Trump supporters visited a brewery in Fort Dodge for Trump
The NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll was conducted Jan. 7-12 among a likely 705 Republican caucusgoers. The margin of error is plus-minus 3.7 percentage points
Donald Trump has been taking potshots at 2024 Republican rival Vivek Ramaswamy since Saturday when the tech entrepreneur handed out “Save Trump, Vote Vivek” T-shirts
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has traveled with his own endorsers, including Texas Rep. Chip Roy and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.
With his supporters at the hustings, Trump used his online platform to take down rival Vivek Ramaswamy in hopes of achieving a landslide election victory.
“A VOTE FOR VIVEK IS A WASTED VOTE,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, in an all-caps post. ‘I like VIVEK, but he played it too ‘cute’ with us.
“CAUCUS TONIGHT, VOTE FOR DONALD J. TRUMP, BUILD THE NUMBERS!!”
He also took on Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.
“Nikki Haley can never win in the general election because she doesn’t have a MAGA, and she never will! If anything, Ron DeSanctimonious is MAGA-Lite,” Trump wrote, using his insult for DeSantis. “Remember, I think MAGA is almost entirely a member of the Republican Party.”
He then called Haley a “globalist RINO.”
“It won’t happen for her, or for DeSanctimonious!” He wrote. ‘Vivek Votes are wasted, should come to ‘TRUMP’. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!’
Haley’s campaign pushed back, saying his super pac has been distributing mailers in New Hampshire saying that “Nikki Haley is a HUGE supporter of Trump’s MAGA agenda.”
DeSantis did a round of TV interviews and blasted Trump for “destroying” Governor Kim Reynolds, who supported him.
‘I always like being the underdog. I mean, that’s true,” he said on Fox News.