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Donald Trump made a series of bizarre claims about electric cars and boats while campaigning in Iowa on Sunday to secure backing from voters ahead of January’s caucus in the state.
As he has in the past, the former president is heading to areas of the state, this time in the southeast, that have previously supported Democrats but which he managed to flip to the Republican column in 2016.
Mr Trump spoke at an event in the small city of Ottumwa on Sunday afternoon, where he claimed to have “won Iowa twice” despite losing to Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) in 2016.
This comes as Mr Trump’s fraud trial is set to begin in New York on Monday. A summary judgment issued on 26 September found that the former president and his associates, including his sons Donald Jr and Eric, overvalued the assets of their company for years.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives and Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass a funding resolution and keep the federal government open on Saturday after Speaker Kevin McCarthy ended his attempts to work with far-right hardliners and instead cut a deal with Democrats.
President Joe Biden signed the agreement keeping the government open on Saturday night, just before the midnight deadline.
