By Matthew Jack
DES MOINES — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump headlined the second Roast and Ride fundraiser hosted by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines on Aug. 27, painting a Republican Party embodying unity and hope.
Trump iterated his positions on such issues as immigration, national security, and policies important to Iowa farmers — including the Renewable Fuel Standard and, a mandate requiring the use of corn-based ethanol in the nation’s fuel supply.
“This year, the GOP is offering the voters a chance to break up the corrupt establishment and to create a new American future,” Trump said in his prepared speech — a marked shift in delivery from the famously off-the-cuff candidate. “That is why this is such an exciting year to be a Republican and to vote Republican.”
Andy Hill of Manly, Iowa, said he felt a sense of “commonality we have as Iowans and conservatives.” Referring to the event’s opening prayer, he said, “Those who didn’t participate in the prayer were respectful. Everyone has different perspectives, but we are moving forward as one.”
Hill expressed a desire to see the presidential race become more positive and said partisanship had damaged the political process.
“I think we got things done when [elected officials] were able to sit down, relax, and have a conversation — not just throw hand grenades from the other side of the aisle,” he said.
After promising recently to improve his campaign’s outreach to minority voters, Trump repeated an address to African-American voters he originally gave at a Wisconsin rally this month, saying Democrats have failed crime-ridden communities in heavily blue cities such as Chicago.
“We have bad schools, no jobs, high crime, and no hope,” he said. “It can’t get any worse. What do you have to lose?”
Trump invited the family of Sarah Root — a 21-year-old native Iowan who was killed by an undocumented immigrant in a drunk-driving incident — to speak about their support for Trump’s immigration plan. Root’s mother criticized Hillary Clinton’s immigration policy, saying it would lead to more crime and more victims like their daughter.
Author and conservative pundit Ann Coulter released her new book last week, In Trump We Trust, in which she expressed support for heavily controversial elements of Trump’s immigration plan, including his pledge to deport all undocumented immigrants.
Following her book’s release, Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in an interview that he was considering “softening” his position on some of those immigration positions.
Cheryl Roe, a Sheridan, Iowa, resident, said Trump was “right”when it comes to immigration. “We need need to start taking care of our own,” she said. Referring to Clinton’s plan to increase the number of Syrian refugees accepted into the U.S. to 65,000. Roe said, “We’ve never taken in our enemies before.”
Trump’s supporters feel that comments such as those Trump made to Hannity are being unfairly represented in the media. Sandi Winton, a Glenwood, Iowa, resident who has supported Trump since 2008, said they didn’t undermine her support.
“He’s not a slick polished politician … that’s what I like about him; he’s not smooth around the edges,” Winton said. “He’s just a normal guy like me or you.”
