The GOP Primary Is a Field of Broken Dreams

Published

1 year ago

August 23, 2023

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People near me at the Iowa State Fair were frantic. Do you see him yet? they panted. Do you think hell come out into the crowd to talk? When the presence of Secret Service officers made it clear that former President Donald Trump would appear at the Steer N Stein restaurant on the Grand Concourse, fairgoers formed a line whose end was out of sight.

Not all of them could squeeze into the restaurant, so they filled the street outside, one giant blob of eager, sweating Iowans. When the former president finally appeared, the scrum was so dense that they could barely make out his silhouette through the restaurants open side. You know, the other candidates came here, and they had like six people, Trumps giddy voice said through the speakers above us. The audience responded with hoots and cheers.

David Axelrod: The indictment is stunning. Will Trump supporters care?

One of the few rules of American politics to have withstood the weirdness of these past tumultuous years is that anyone who wants to be president of the United States must endure both the many splendors and the equally many ritual humiliations of the Iowa State Fair. It is an essential audition, at least for the GOP. (The Democratic Party has recently shuffled the order of its primary season, demoting the Iowa caucus from its first-in-the-nation status.)

If a Republican candidate, drenched in sweat and stuffed with fried butter, can pique the interest of Iowas choosy voters, then that candidate has a real shot in the caucuses and, perhaps, the White House. Sometimes, a long-shot outsider can work the crowds and gain an unexpected edge, as Rick Santorum did in 2012, and Ted Cruz did in 2016.

So the fair is a place to charm and be charmed. Early on in the weekend, it seemed to be working its magic.

Hes really very engaging, Shirley Burgess, from Des Moines, said of Mike Pence. I thought he delivers a much clearer message in person than what Im getting from him on TV. The former vice president had just wrapped one of several Fair-Side Chats hosted by Republican Governor Kim Reynolds. This was a new feature at the fair, at which the governor asks the candidates such hard-hitting questions as Whats your favorite walkout song?

The night before, Pence had been heckled by a man who asked how he was doing after Tucker Carlson ruined your career. Another said, Im glad they didnt hang you!

But on Friday morning, Pence drew a respectful crowd for his conversation with Reynolds at J.R.s Southpork Ranch. Attendees asked him polite questions, and half a dozen people personally thanked him for his integrity when Trump was trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Pence had company, however. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and the entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy also attracted crowds at the Pork Ranch and at the Des Moines Registers Soapbox venue. Most of the undecided Iowans who attended told me that theyd supported Trump in 2016 and in 2020. These voters appreciated his service, they said, but after eight years of idiotic rants on social media, baseless but relentless assertions of election fraud, and a string of criminal indictments, they were hankering for some new energy. You know, a leader without so much baggage, they told me; someone more classy.

Everything out of his mouth is like, Shut up, Donald, Charles Dunlap, a two-time Trump voter from Johnston, Iowa, told me. He was eager to hear from Ramaswamy and Haley, people he believed would institute similar policies to Trumpsjust without the drama.

But the intimate enchantment of the fairthe promise of thoughtful, measured considerationdissipated around 1 p.m. Saturday, when the former president arrived. What very quickly became clear was that the Trump-exhausted, change-minded Iowans Id met that morning were in the minority. Most folks? They still love Trump.

The former president skipped possible speaking slots at the Soapbox and with Reynolds (because of his strange beef with the governor), but showed up to mingle with his people. They packed into every fair establishment where the president might conceivably speak. Because his event wasnt on any official schedule, everyone was kept guessing. Parts of the fairground came to a standstill. People who just wanted to slurp lemonade and admire the prize-winning steers were annoyed. Why did we have to come on the day that all the politicians are here? a man pushing a stroller through the throng asked his wife. (Almost every Iowan, for the record, has at one point uttered the phrase.)

Given his commanding lead in the GOP primary polling, its not so shocking that Trumps presence would create such fervor. But seeing it, feeling it, was different. By contrast, the crowds that had gathered for the other Republican candidates didnt seem impressive at all. Suddenly, the entire GOP primary contest felt painfully futile, pathetic even. Why are they even doing this? For the also-ransbasically, the rest of the field alreadywas suffering the abuses of the campaign trail worth even the best-case scenario of being anointed Trumps running mate?

On Saturday, while Pence stood in the sun flipping pork burgers, people in the crowd whispered about him. Look at him sweat, someone behind me said. Hes a dweeb, and so is DeSantis, a young man from Cedar Rapids named Jacob, who declined to give his last name, told me. You just want to take their lunch money. Its instinct. Ramaswamy, whose big personality has charmed many Republicans, apparently felt the need to put on a non-dweeb showing after his interview with the governor, and rapped confidently to the Eminem song Lose Yourself. A sea of silver-haired onlookers, who found themselves trapped near the front of the stage, were obliged to awkwardly bob along.

DeSantis, more than anyone else, suffered at the fair. While he spoke with Reynolds, a plane flew in circles overhead, carrying a long sign that read Be likable, Ron! DeSantis pretended not to notice it. When the Florida governor took his turn in the Pork Tent, Trump supporters gathered behind his photo op, wearing green-and-yellow trucker hats handed out by the Trump campaign. They chanted and yelled insults as DeSantis and his wife flipped burgers.

And when Trump finally arrived on Saturday afternoon, he brought with him a posse of Florida lawmakers who had endorsed him over DeSantis. (Representative Matt Gaetz warmed up the crowd by saying that hed grilled burgers well done at the Pork Tent, but the most done you can be is Ron DeSantis.) Will the humiliation pay off in the end? DeSantiss campaign has to hope so. At least in Iowa, the Florida governor is running somewhat closer to Trump than he is nationally.

Earlier in the day, Id interviewed Matt Wells, a DeSantis supporter and a county chair from Washington, Iowa, who had been following the candidate around the fair all morning. Trumps people dont really know what theyre doing; its all an emotional thing, he told me. Wells worked for Ted Cruzs campaign in 2016. Theyd had a strong ground game then, as DeSantis does now, he said. Trump, Wells added, doesnt have any ground game here.

Helen Lewis: The humiliation of Ron DeSantis

Cruz may have won Iowa, but he quite memorably did not go on to win the 2016 election. I was about to bring up this fact when someone near us gasped. A dozen fingers pointed toward the sky, and people began to scream with excitement. There, in the bright-blue ocean above us, was a plane with TRUMP emblazoned on its side heading for the nearby airport. Someone whispered, Did I tell you that I shook his hand twice? The clamor grew louder.

Trump would be here soon. The man, the myth, had landed.

Entertainment

Pilot killed as Motley Crue frontman’s jet crashes at Arizona airport

Published

4 hours ago

February 11, 2025

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Pilot killed as Motley Crue frontman's jet crashes at Arizona airport

A pilot has died after a private jet owned by Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil crashed into another plane at an airport in Arizona.

Neil was not on board at the time of the collision, which happened off the runway at Scottsdale Airport on Monday afternoon.

Neil’s girlfriend Rain Andreani and her friend suffered injuries which are not thought to be life-threatening.

They were taken to hospital with the jet’s co-pilot, who was also injured.

“While details are still emerging, our hearts go out to the families of both the pilot who lost his life and the passengers who suffered injuries,” Motley Crue said in a statement.

“Motley Crue will announce a way to help support the family of the deceased pilot – stand by for an announcement very soon”.

Rain Andreani broke five ribs in the crash and the dogs the women were travelling with survived, TMZ reports.

Neil’s jet was arriving from Austin, Texas, when one of its two sets of landing gears failed.

The Learjet veered off the runway after landing and crashed into a Gulfstream 200 business jet.

Neil’s lawyer said the singer is “grateful for the critical aid of all first responders assisting today”.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the incident was under investigation.

Motley Crue enjoyed major success throughout the 1980s, selling more than 100 million records.

Vince Neil fronted the rock band from their formation in 1981 until he left in 1992.

He later reunited with the band in 1996 and fronted them until they retired in 2015, and again from the band’s 2018 reunion onwards.

World

Trump issues Gaza ceasefire ultimatum to Hamas as he warns ‘all hell is going to break out’ if hostages not returned

Published

5 hours ago

February 11, 2025

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Trump issues Gaza ceasefire ultimatum to Hamas as he warns 'all hell is going to break out' if hostages not returned

Donald Trump says the Gaza ceasefire should be cancelled if all remaining Israeli hostages are not returned by noon on Saturday – as he warned Hamas that “all hell is going to break out”.

The US president’s intervention came hours after Hamas has said it will delay the release of more hostages and accused Israel of violating their ceasefire deal.

While signing a series of new executive orders, Mr Trump said he feared many Israeli hostages scheduled for release are already dead.

Referring to his Saturday deadline for the release of hostages, Mr Trump said: “If they’re not here, all hell is going to break out.”

He acknowledged that a decision to end the ceasefire was up to Israel, adding: “I’m speaking for myself. Israel can override it.”

Hours earlier, Mr Trump said Palestinians would not have the right to return under his plan for US “ownership” of Gaza – contradicting officials in his administration who said they would be relocated temporarily.

Trump latest: ‘Palestinians will have no right to Gaza return’

Hamas halts release of hostages

Earlier on Monday, Hamas claimed ceasefire violations had included “delaying the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, and targeting them with shelling and gunfire”.

Spokesman Abu Obeida said Hamas remained committed if Israel kept to the terms, but that the 15 February handover was postponed “until the occupation commits to and compensates for the past weeks”.

Egyptian security sources told Reuters that mediators now fear the deal will break down.

They said Hamas believes Israel isn’t serious about the ceasefire – which began on 19 January.

The last hostage release took place at the weekend and saw three Israeli men set free. Five Thai citizens released last month were also finally reunited with their families in Bangkok.

They were among about 250 people taken during the 7 October 2023 attack, when 1,200 people were murdered.

Five swaps have taken place so far, with 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners released.

Saturday’s exchange was due to involve three more Israelis and hundreds of Palestinians.

Defence minister Israel Katz said any delay in releasing hostages would be “a complete violation” and he had instructed troops to be on highest alert.

The Hostages and Missing Family Forum called on mediating countries to restore the deal, saying “time is of the essence” and citing “the shocking conditions of the hostages released last Saturday”.

As part of the ceasefire deal, Israeli forces pulled back from a key passage through Gaza on Sunday.

The four-mile-long Netzarim corridor separates northern Gaza from the south, and hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have now crossed back over.

However, Israel pushed back the withdrawal by a few days in protest at the chaotic release of hostages Arbel Yehud and Gadi Moses.

This may be what Hamas is referencing what it talks of “delaying the return of the displaced”.

There have also been examples of Israeli troops shooting at or near Palestinians approaching Israeli forces after being warned to stay back.

So far, little progress has been made on an extension to the first six-week phase of the ceasefire.

A delegation from Israel has arrived in Qatar for further talks amid concern the deal might collapse before all remaining hostages are freed.

Israel has previously said it will not agree to a complete withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas’s military and political capabilities are eliminated.

Hamas has countered that it will not hand over the final hostages until Israel removes all its troops from Gaza.

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