Trump a fan of Hawkeyes, ethanol and Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses

IOWA CITY — Between congratulating the University of Iowa Big Ten champion football team — 'Look at the size of these guys' and undefeated Hawkeye wrestlers, and criticizing protesters with whistles who interrupted him more than a half dozen times, Donald Trump took shots at his rivals — both Democrat and Republican — and promised to make America great again.

He chided 'low energy' Jeb Bush — 'You fall asleep looking at him' and the 'boring' Democratic town hall Monday night. Hillary Clinton 'should be going to jail,' he told more than 1,000 people at the University of Iowa Field House on Tuesday night.

Trump also promised to make sure that the Iowa caucuses remain first-in-the-nation and reminded his audience 'I'm a fan of ethanol.'

And then there was Ted Cruz.

According to Trump, the Texas senator is Cruz 'like a nervous wreck because he's dropping like a rock in the polls.'

On the other hand, Trump bragged that he's No. 1 in all the polls.

'It's almost embarrassing,' Trump said.

He mentioned that in the past week has secured the endorsements of Sarah Palin and Jerry Falwell Jr.

Trump didn't mention he's pulled out of a Thursday night debate because of his running feud with Fox News and its host Megyn Kelly, who is scheduled to be one of the questioners.

See Also: Trump gets support from Hawkeye players, scorn from protesters at UI stop

Instead, he talked about how Iowa will be just the start of his run for the White House. Polls in Iowa suggest he's in a dead heat with Cruz for support in Monday's first-in-the-nation caucuses and Trump claimed 'substantial, double digit leads' in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

'We're going to run the table. We may be the first one to win every single state,' he said. 'It starts in Iowa. Iowa is so important.'

That lead in Iowa polls may not tell the whole story, David Andersen, Iowa State University assistant professor of political science, said Tuesday. Although Trump led Cruz 31 percent to 29 percent in the ISU/WHO-HD Iowa Caucus Poll released Tuesday, it is unclear if he can turn the boisterous crowds at his rallies into caucus-night supporters.

'Trump has done an excellent job of motivating non-traditional Republicans and people who don't typically vote to support him and attend his rallies,' Andersen said. 'However, our poll has shown — twice now — that he is not the leading candidate among people who are the most likely to go out on caucus night.'

Trump probably has more supporters than his GOP rivals, Andersen said, but if those supporters don't show up to caucus it just won't matter'

'It is not just popularity that wins the caucus; it is turning out your supporters,' he said.