DeSantis impresses Iowa with an absent Trump

For the first time in months, Governor Ron DeSantis showed on Saturday the aggressive political instincts his allies have long insisted he would demonstrate in a game against former President Donald J. Trump.

After leading two successful political events in Iowa, Mr. DeSantis made an unscheduled stop in Des Moines — a move to highlight that Mr. Trump had abruptly postponed a planned Saturday night rally in the area due to reports of possible severe weather.

Mr. Trump’s statement for postponing the event drew skepticism from local Iowa officials and ridicule from DeSanti’s allies about the “nice” weather. And Mr. DeSantis – who has avoided direct conflict with Mr. Trump – was basically kicking sand in the former president’s face by coming to an area that Mr. Trump claimed he was told was too dangerous for him to visit .

After finishing his Saturday night events elsewhere in the state, Mr. DeSantis headed to Jethro’s BBQ Southside, where he and his wife, Casey DeSantis, stood on a table outside and addressed a cheering crowd. The barbecue joint was a short drive from where Mr. Trump had planned his own rally.

“My other half and I were able to be all over Iowa today, but before we got back to Florida we wanted to stop by and say hello to the people of Des Moines,” said a grinning Mr. DeSantis. “So thank you all for coming. It’s a beautiful evening, it was a great day for us.”

Mr. DeSantis’ pointed pitstop was a clear rebuke to Mr. Trump, who has spent months trying to harass the Florida governor by mocking him for his plummeting polls and perceived lack of charisma. Mr. DeSantis’s resistance to hit back while not an outspoken candidate when he finished the state’s legislative session, coupled with a handful of unforced errors, had allowed the former president to take over the 2024 race and make some of Mr. DeSantis’s allies frustrated.

But as he prepares to take on Mr. Trump, who has dominated every Republican he has campaigned against in the past, Mr. DeSantis moved to show that he has no intention of suffering the same outcome.

“If someone hits you in the face, you better hit them back,” said Terry Sullivan, who led the 2016 presidential campaign of Florida Senator Marco Rubio — a race in which Mr. Rubio was criticized for not fighting back enough against Mr. Rubio . Trump.

Mr. DeSantis has been outflanked by Mr. Trump’s team at several turns thus far. Saturday marked the first time Mr. DeSantis took the opportunity to face Mr. Trump over an alleged misstep.

Mr. DeSantis has many more days to string together, like Saturday, in a campaign that will depend heavily on winning the Iowa caucus early next year. But Republican activists in the state say there is an opening with caucus attendees for anyone other than Mr. Trump. And Saturday’s visit, where he also traveled to Sioux Center — populated by Christian conservatives whose support he must gain — was seen as a positive development by Republicans who want to beat Mr. the national scene.

Despite the unforeseen — albeit indirect — jab at Jethro, the governor is unlikely to criticize Trump immediately after formally announcing his campaign, according to two people familiar with his political operation. And even if he does jump into the race, which is expected to happen soon, he will largely focus on contrasting his track record with Mr. Trump’s — particularly on issues like the coronavirus pandemic — while he claims he is the candidate better equipped to defeat President Biden in a general election.

It’s a strategy that prevents Mr. Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election from being challenged again, and one that foreshadows the governor as he storms Republican events across the country. It also positions Mr. DeSantis — who is many decades younger than the 76-year-old Mr. Trump, who was recently indicted and has the ability to do even more in other investigations — as interested in the future and not the past.

“If we hold this election over a referendum on Joe Biden and his failed policies, and we offer a positive alternative to take America in a new direction, I think the Republicans will win across the board,” DeSantis said during a fund on Saturday night. raiser for the Iowa Republican Party in Cedar Rapids. That event was shown on Fox News at the time Mr. Trump had claimed Fox News reserved to show his rally.

Mr. DeSantis’ message is already appealing to a number of voters, including Amy Seeger, who traveled from Milwaukee to see him speak at a picnic in Sioux Center earlier today.

“I would vote for a shoe over Trump,” Ms. Seeger said in an interview. “It is time to move on. Trump is very wrapped up in 2020 and playing the victim.”

Mr. DeSantis also used the trip to Iowa to show off the sometimes puzzling lighter side of his personality, flipping burgers at the picnic and talking about his life as a family man with his wife at the Cedar Rapids evening fundraiser.

At that second event, Ms. DeSantis joined her husband onstage for an interview conducted by Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann in response to comments made by the governor. Mr. DeSantis’ stupid speech focuses almost exclusively on policy, omitting the biographical details that politicians are generally required to provide. His wife seemed to try to fill in those gaps by sharing personal stories about Mr. DeSantis’ childhood in Florida, his military service, and their three young children.

“When he comes home, don’t think for a second that he goes straight to bed,” she said. “I’ll give him three little kids and go to bed.”

The moment resonated with the audience. “There was a tender side to him, a family side, that I didn’t really appreciate,” said Bob Carlson, a Muscatine physician who was in the audience.

As Mr. DeSantis approaches an announcement, he begins to show other signs of political strength in ways that don’t matter beyond financial support. The trip to Iowa — where he is expected to pay a return visit fairly soon — came as a super PAC backing his near-official presidential campaign, announcing support from 37 state legislators. Local elected officials tend to pay less attention to national polls than members of Congress, who have been slower to support the governor.

Trump, on the other hand — who had scheduled a rally to try to erase Mr. DeSantis’s visit by showing up on the same day — abruptly canceled his own event in the middle of the afternoon, citing a tornado lookout.

But while it rained heavily at times, it was sunny by mid-afternoon and no severe weather like a tornado came, which left Iowans wondering if Mr. Trump was afraid he wouldn’t draw the crowd he expected. The lack of dangerous storms has been noted by local activists who want to see the party move away from Mr Trump.

“We’re all out on a beautiful evening,” says influential podcast host Steve Deace wrote on Twitter from the site of Mr. DeSantis’ BBQ victory round. “Pretty big crowd too. No severe weather in sight. Planes land and depart as planned.”

DeSantis’ hopes for a victory in the Iowa caucuses include uniting a careful coalition of social conservatives who backed candidates like Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee in 2016, along with suburban moderates who favored Mr. Rubio.

Still, Mr. DeSantis may be on the cusp of gaining support from enough corners of the state to boost his support. For example, influential social conservative leader Bob Vander Place met the governor and publicly praised him.

Mr. DeSantis’ day was also punctuated by performances with Senator Joni Ernst and Governor Kim Reynolds, both Republicans from Iowa. Those visits don’t necessarily mean approval from those officials is in the offing, but they do indicate a willingness in the state to support anyone other than Mr. Trump and there was less concern than ever about retaliation from the former president.

Bret Hayworth contributed reporting from Sioux Center, Iowa.