According to polls, former President Trump is the clear favorite for the nomination in the US presidential elections. His appearance in Iowa was interrupted by climate activists.
A winter storm affected the election campaign over the weekend and several campaign appearances were cancelled. The weather service also warned of “life-threatening” cold temperatures of up to minus 28 degrees on Monday. This could affect voter turnout. Observers assume that low turnout would be particularly damaging to front-runner Trump. “Dress up tomorrow,” Trump told his supporters at a campaign appearance in Indianola on Sunday. “Defy the weather and go out to save America.”
Trump also faced headwinds from climate activists in the final outbreak. They interrupted his campaign rally in Indianola on Sunday. Protesters shouted “Trump, climate criminal” and a young woman held a banner with the same words. Trump supporters present in the hall responded with chants of “USA, USA” as security guards led the activists away. As climate activists were taken to Indianola, Trump told one activist that she was “young and immature.” “They’re fighting oil,” Trump said. “They're basically saying, 'We're going to shut down our country.'” Trump has long questioned the scientific consensus on the role of humans in climate change. One of his first acts as president was to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which his successor Joe Biden reversed. If he is re-elected, Trump wants to increase fossil fuel production. The US is by far the largest producer of oil and gas.
Trump with 48 percent
According to a poll conducted by the regional newspaper “Des Moines Register” and other media outlets, Trump is at 48 percent – well ahead of his competitors; another poll had Trump at 55 percent. Haley, considered a little more moderate, comes in second place, with 20%. This is four percentage points more than in December. DeSantis fell to third place with 16 percent. He was once considered Trump's biggest competitor in the race for the presidential nomination. But in recent months he has lost support and remained visibly pale in TV duels. He particularly focused on Iowa during the campaign – if he came in third place there, it would be a disastrous start to the election year for him.
Over the weekend he was combative and tried to downplay the poor poll numbers. “I learned that it’s good to be an outsider. (…) I prefer that people lower their expectations of us. That way I can work better,” he said on North American television. When asked about his competitor Trump, the 45-year-old replied: “The first time he didn’t keep the most important promises.”
Will Haley be Trump's running mate?
Haley urged her followers to brave the weather and vote: “Iowa, you have a job to do tomorrow. Bring your ID, dress in layers and let’s go!” The 51-year-old former governor of the US state of South Carolina began her election campaign last February – and was polling in low single digits at the time. She has struggled to make headway in recent months and has had particularly good results in the Republican televised duels, which Trump, however, has stayed away from. However, Haley is reluctant to publicly distance herself from Trump, in whose administration she served as UN ambassador. Observers therefore speculate that she could become Trump's vice-presidential candidate.
Republicans vote in primary elections in the Midwestern farm state in the traditional caucus fashion, in which party members meet in schools, churches, sports halls or living rooms. President Biden's Democrats are voting in Iowa for the first time in a multi-week email process. For them, Biden is practically confirmed as presidential candidate, he has no serious competitors.- (APA)