Eight years later, Iowans are still excited and eager to see President Donald J. Trump. According to a poll conducted at The Iowa Standard’s booth at the Iowa State Fair, 82 percent of respondents said they were more excited to see Trump than Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who also appeared at the fair on Saturday.
More than 600 people responded, and 525 said they were more excited to see Trump. DeSantis received 115 votes.
Trump made three stops at the fair on Saturday, visiting with Iowans at the Pork Tent, the Animal Learning Center and the Steer ‘N’ Stein. Thousands of Iowans attempted to catch a glimpse of Trump, who was joined by several Republican members of Congress, including some of the Florida delegation.
A number of people who stopped at the booth told The Iowa Standard they don’t believe there is any way Trump legitimately lost the 2020 election and believe that he is the only candidate who can fix the mess President Joe Biden is creating.
DeSantis had a solid showing of support as well, though it wasn’t near the crowd Trump generated inside — and outside — of the Steer ‘N’ Stein.
We spoke with a woman named Susan at the Animal Learning Center who said she supports Trump because of how he is treated.
“I kind of go for the underdog,” she said. “I know he’s in the lead, but they just nitpick everything he does and they fabricate.”
The fact the Left is working so hard to keep him from returning to the White House tells Susan that Trump “knows what is going on” and they want to keep it hidden.
While Susan remains loyal, she acknowledged some of her friends and family who were fellow supporters are looking at other candidates.
“Hopefully they stick with Trump,” she said.
The economy is the most important issue to Susan entering 2024.
“It’s just very hard to make ends meet anymore,” she said. “Everything is going up in price.”
Maddie and Eli, both of whom will be first-time voters and caucusgoers from Council Bluffs, didn’t know Trump would be at the fair, but couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see him.
“I like his policies,” Eli said.
Specifically, he said he appreciated Trump’s work on the economy and on foreign policy.
“I just kind of stopped listening to anything about President Biden after the first couple months,” Eli said.
As of Sunday morning, Trump leads the Iowa Secretary of State’s poll with 545 votes (46.66%). DeSantis is second with 195 (16.7%). Tim Scott is third with 127 votes (10.87%). Nobody else is above 10 percent.
The Iowa State Fair hasn’t posted Saturday’s attendance, but the previous record 113,012 on Day 3.
Previous results of polls at The Iowa Standard’s booth from this year’s fair so far are:
Aug. 11: Did the Bidens sell access to foreign entities? Yes (426 votes, 96.5%) No (15 votes, 3.4%).
Aug. 10: Is there a liberal bias in the media? Yes (404 votes, 88.4%) No (53 votes, 11.5%).
