Trump is focusing on Iowa as he looks to close out the Republican race

With just under two months to go until the Iowa caucuses, former President Donald J. Trump returned to the state on Saturday and made explicit a campaign strategy he had only hinted at for months.

Speaking in a crowded high school gymnasium, Mr. Trump made clear that he saw a decisive victory in the first Republican nominating contest as the quickest path to ending Republican primaries and focusing on a general election race against President Biden.

“You know, we have to send a great message,” Trump said. Referring to his Republican rivals, he added: “And then these people might say, ‘OK, it’s over now.’”

After his speech ended, Mr. Trump also deviated from his normal rally routine. The former president, who has largely eschewed the retail politics endemic to the state, lingered for about 10 minutes to pose for photos and shake hands with voters.

Trump’s speech, which covered topics such as energy, foreign policy and criminal justice from an Iowa frame, suggested a subtle shift in his campaign’s approach to the Republican primaries. For months, Trump has appeared at small “commit to caucus” events that his campaign hopes will help his popularity in the state propel him to victory in January, pushing out most of the field.

Still, Trump — who leads the Republican primaries in both polls and fundraising — has kept a fairly light campaign schedule in Iowa.

His challengers, who remain far behind, have stormed the state, hoping that a strong showing could weaken Trump’s position and give them a path to the Republican nomination.

On Saturday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has focused his campaign on the state, opened a new campaign headquarters in Iowa outside Des Moines. He was joined by Iowa’s popular Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, who recently endorsed him.

Ms. Reynolds, who previously pledged to remain neutral in the caucuses, praised Mr. DeSantis and said that caucusgoers in Iowa “expect you to show up, they expect you to earn their votes,” in an apparent swipe at Mr. Trump.

But during his speech in Fort Dodge, Mr. Trump exuded confidence. He relied on a tactic that seemed to reflect his transactional approach to politics: telling Iowans what he did for them as president and asking them to give back.

At one point, he was credited with keeping their caucuses as the primary presidential primary contest, unlike the Democrats, who later shifted Iowa on their nominating calendar.

“Look, I kept you first in the country,” he said. “I’m the one who… will you please at least give me a good show of it? OK? Please.”

Mr. Trump reaffirmed his commitment to ethanol, which is important to Iowa’s economy. And as he often does here, he has repeatedly touted the $28 billion in aid his government has provided to farmers; money that he believes comes from tariffs on China. Mr. Trump suggested that these funds alone should give him a victory in January.

“My guys say, ‘Please, sir, don’t take for granted that you’re going to win Iowa. It doesn’t sound good,” Trump told the crowd. “I tell them, ‘Of course it is. I gave them $28 billion. Who else would you vote for?’”

But even as he said the support of Iowans in the caucuses was crucial, Mr. Trump made clear he was already looking ahead to a general election race against President Biden.

Citing Mr. Biden’s meeting with President Xi Jinping of China, he accused the president of being corrupted by Chinese influence and being too soft on the country.

“We have a Manchurian candidate in the Oval Office,” Trump said, apparently referring to the 1962 film about a communist sleeper in the US government. The reference didn’t seem to resonate with the crowd.

“You know, ‘The Manchurian Candidate’?” Mr. Trump continued. “Go check it out.”

In another comment on his usual speech, Trump accused Democrats of waging a witch hunt with their investigation into him, bringing up the so-called Steele Dossier, which included a salacious claim about his encounters with prostitutes at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow. .

Mr. Trump complained that he had to explain to his wife, Melania, allegations that he had ordered the prostitutes to urinate on each other and on the bed at the hotel where President Barack Obama had once slept.

“She actually didn’t believe him, because she said, ‘He’s a germaphobe.’ He doesn’t like that, you know?’” Mr. Trump said. “He doesn’t like golden showers, as they call them.” He shook his head. “I don’t like that idea. No, I didn’t do that.”

Nicholas Nehamas contributed reporting from Des Moines.