DES MOINES, Iowa—On a cold night in Iowa, thousands packed into an arena as Donald Trump kicked off a rally warning against “radical, socialist Democrats right down the street.”
“We are going to win the great state of Iowa. It will be a historic landslide,” he said. “If we do not win, your farms are going to hell, I can tell you that right now!”
And so it went, as his potential Democratic rivals headed into the crucial last days of the Iowa primary campaign, Trump kicked back and let loose in a trademark freewheeling rally—blending some of his recent accomplishments, like the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, with greatest hits like the 2016 elections and tales of murderous illegal immigrants—while complaining about the impeachment trial that was underway as he spoke.
ADVERTISEMENT
While he name-checked the four Democrats who are currently leading the polls in Iowa—“Crazy Bernie” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), “Pocahontas” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and “Boot-Edge-Edge” former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg—he repeatedly took aim at former Vice President Joe Biden, returning several times to question his mental acuity.
First, Trump slammed Biden for confusing Iowa and Ohio—a mistake he made in November 2019.
“He always gets the name wrong,” Trump said. “How many times has he missed it. He is in Iowa, he says, great to be in the great state of Ohio. They say, Joe, you are in Iowa. You cannot do that. No matter how great you speak. If you are Winston Churchill, if you make that mistake at the beginning of your speech, it is over.”
Motioning to the cameras, he added, “They will absolutely destroy you. You cannot do that. Sleepy Joe.”
Later he returned to Biden again, declaring that it is “over” for the former vice president.
“Sleepy Joe doesn't even know what he is talking about. Honestly, that poor guy is so lost. It was over for him a long time ago,” Trump said at one point. “Now it's really over.”
Trump’s comments come as the impeachment trial centered on his pressure campaign in Ukraine gears up for a pivotal vote on whether or not to allow additional witnesses to testify.
For most of the rally, Trump seemed to be directing his supporters’ attention anywhere but there.
To the extent there was a theme, it was to warn against the socialist policies that his competitors would implement if elected.
“The good people of Iowa have had a front row seat to the lunacy and the madness of the totally sick left,” Trump said, before launching once again into a litany of predictions about all the things Democrats would take away should they rise back into power.
Trump touched only momentarily on impeachment, but expressed confidence in the outcome.
“No, that will not work,” he said. “Watch. Just watch.”
