Trump and DeSantis rally at Iowa football game in clash of personas

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The annual Iowa–Iowa State football game was overshadowed by a game of political football, as former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis vied to score points with Republican voters ahead of the Hawkeye State’s pivotal January caucus.

Both 2024 aspirants converged at the Jack Trice Stadium Saturday to watch Iowa State University’s square off against the University of Iowa and exhibited a clash of styles.

DeSantis watched the game with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-Ia.), whom Trump publicly lambasted earlier this year for being overly cozy with his Florida foe.

Reynolds has stayed neutral thus far, but has flanked DeSantis at a bevy of key Iowa outings, much to Trump’s chagrin.

Meanwhile, Trump observed the game from a private stadium suite, but was spotted before the game signing baseball caps from his fans and tossing a football into a crowd of tailgaters.

Ahead of the game, Trump was spotted dropping into the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity house, signing baseball caps, tossing a football into a crowd of tailgaters and flipping burgers in front of reporters and cheering students.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis attended the football game between Iowa State and the University of Iowa in Ames on September 9, 2023. Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
DeSantis taking a selfie with a fan in the stands at the game. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con

Never Back Down, a super PAC backing DeSantis, cut an online campaign ad zinging Trump for enabling transgender women to compete in a beauty pageant he previously possessed.

Additionally, a plane flew above the stadium with a banner reading “Where’s Melania,” trolling Trump over his wife’s absence from the campaign trail.

That banner marked revenge after Trump allies paid for a plane to flyer a banner over the Iowa State Fair mocking DeSantis, who has regularly stumped on the campaign trail with his wife Casey and occasionally with his children as well.

Former President Donald Trump flipping hamburgers at Iowa State University’s Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity house before the game. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall
Trump passed out signed hats and footballs to supporters during the campaign stop. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall
Trump tossing a pass into the crowd at the fraternity house. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

The Trump campaign downplayed the jabs as “desperate attacks.”

Both men drew a mixture of boos and hearty cheers at various times throughout their swing through the Hawkeye State.

Ahead of the feted game, which saw the University of Iowa Hawkeyes win 20-13, the Trump campaign lashed out at NBC over a report alleging his allies in Iowa were fretting over an anemic operation in the Hawkeye State.

DeSantis watched the game with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Trump is overwhelmingly ahead in the GOP’s leadoff state, with a whopping 27.8 percentage point edge over DeSantis, per the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate.

Recently, a DeSantis campaign official sought to temper expectations in Iowa, telling Politico a “strong second-place showing” there would be acceptable.

Vexed by distractions from his piling legal woes, Trump has skipped a handful of cattle call events and even clashed with top politicians in the state.

With four months to go, DeSantis’ campaign is hoping for an opening, having invested heavily in Iowa, the state where Trump lost to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) in 2016.

Other 2024 contenders stumped in the area Saturday as well, including multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

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