Donald Trump ranted about “liars, cheaters, thugs (and) perverts” as he urged his supporters in Iowa to brave an Arctic freeze at the start of the 2024 White House nominating race.
The Iowa caucuses on Monday start the long contest to choose the Republican contender to take on Democratic president Joe Biden in November’s election. Trump is the prohibitive favourite as he bids to return to the White House despite facing multiple lawsuits and ongoing scandals, while Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are fighting for a distant second place.
The northern state, always frigid this time of year, is in the grip of a particularly icy snap with temperatures on Monday night forecast to go below -20 degrees Celsius. But the former president’s loyalists were out in force at his final rally on Sunday night before the caucuses.
"These caucuses are your personal chance to score the ultimate victory over all of the liars, cheaters, thugs, perverts, frauds, crooks, freaks, creeps and other quite nice people," Trump told the cheering crowd, repeating his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen by the Democrats.
"You can't sit home," Trump added, amid concerns that the snow and ice could depress turnout. "If you're sick as a dog, you say 'Darling, I gotta make it.' Even if you vote and then pass away, it's worth it."
Trump is targeting half the entire caucus vote, beating the previous record margin of victory by a Republican candidate, and added later: “Brave the weather and go out and save America.”
Florida governor DeSantis has visited all of Iowa’s 99 counties as he bids to rescue a floundering campaign that at the start of last year looked poised to pose the only serious challenge to Trump.
"I like being underestimated. I like being the underdog," he insisted at the end of his marathon efforts in Iowa.
Ms Haley, who was Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, is on a charge up the polls and hoping to knock Mr DeSantis out of the race in Iowa before the battle moves on to New Hampshire next week.
The former South Carolina governor urged voters to elect her as a “new generational leader that leaves the negativity and the baggage behind and focuses on the solutions of the future”.
A Des Moines Register/NBC News poll released late on Saturday gave Trump 48% in Iowa, while Ms Haley jumped to second place with 20% and Mr DeSantis trailed on 16%.
