Donald Trump is back in Iowa. On his third run for the White House, he is attempting to avoid missteps he made the first time around in the 2016 election.
In 2016 Trump lost the Iowa Republican caucus. This time he aims to win over the critical voters who, he hopes, will send him back to the Oval Office.
Trump spent the evening in the eastern part of Iowa, which traditionally hosts the GOP’s first-in-the-nation caucuses.
He talked up his prospects of winning the state that eluded him seven years ago.
Experts said that at times it felt reminiscent of the 2016 run when he blanketed the airwaves and made himself a fixture among the mainstream outlets en route to a shocking primary and general election win.
Privately, Trump has made clear to his team that he does not want a repeat of what happened in Iowa in 2016, during which he felt he was out-organized by his primary opponents and finished second to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
He has recalled to people that his daughter, Ivanka, showed up at an Iowa caucus site only to notice that the campaign had little presence there.
But also looming over him in Iowa is a potential indictment.
Trump traveled to the state as Manhattan prosecutors near a decision on whether to charge him over his alleged role in a hush-money scheme and cover-up.
Trump would be the first former president ever indicted and the first major presidential candidate under an indictment if charged.
His visit to the crucial state – which hosts the first GOP contest of the 2024 nominating calendar – comes on the heels of trips by potential and announced primary challengers, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who made his Iowa debut on Friday, and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, a declared candidate who also campaigned in the state last week.
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