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What they said: GOP presidential hopefuls speak in Iowa
Eight of the hopefuls speak at Joni Ernst’s Roast and Ride fundraiser
Jun. 3, 2023 5:00 pm, Updated: Jun. 3, 2023 5:43 pm
DES MOINES — Almost all of the major Republican presidential hopefuls addressed roughly 900 Iowans on Saturday at the Iowa State Fairgrounds during U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst’s annual summer fundraiser, the Roast and Ride.
Only former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in national polling on the Republican presidential primary, was absent.
Here is a quote from each of the current or potential presidential candidates who spoke Saturday:
Tim Scott
“Our nation faces one of the greatest threats we’ve seen in my lifetime. It is this culture of grievance … that’s spreading like a cancer across this nation. America is not the land of oppression; America is the land of opportunity, without any question.”
Asa Hutchinson
“I’m campaigning here in Iowa … and I’m shaking hands and after a little visit, they come to me and say, ‘You know, you seem like a normal person.’ Is that not just the greatest compliment you’ve ever had? Guess what? Iowans can spot normal from a long ways away. And that’s important whenever you look at the authenticity of a candidate — who they are, what they believe in. And, yes, Iowa plays an important role this next year (with) the first-in-the-nation test.”
Larry Elder
“The real disparity in America is the epidemic of fatherlessness. … We have a welfare state that has incentivized women to marry the government and incentivized men to abandon their financial and moral responsibility.”
Perry Johnson
“I am probably too conservative for this group. You can hang me anyway. I am pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, anti-woke, anti-China. And I am pro-freedom in every possible way. … I’m going to tell you something, Washington does hate me. I am the outsider of outsiders.”
Vivek Ramaswamy
“What does it actually mean to be an American? That is what we need to answer in our movement. What does it mean to be an American? It means we believe in the individual, the family, the nation and God. The things that actually made this country what we really are. The principles that set this nation into motion 250 years ago.”
Mike Pence
“The truth of the matter is President Joe Biden has weakened America at home and abroad. But the answer, Iowa, is strong, conservative, Republican leadership back in the White House. … Iowa is the place that we shaped principled conservative leadership. Iowa is the place that shaped the standard-bearer of this party.”
Nikki Haley
“I will veto any spending bill that doesn't take us back to pre-COVID levels. No more debt once and for all. Our kids won't forgive us for it. We will get transparency in the classroom. We will make sure we have the back of law enforcement. … And we will go back to ‘Remain in Mexico,’ because guess what? Nobody wants to remain in Mexico. We will keep the provision of Title 42, and instead of catch and release, we will start to catch and deport.”
Ron DeSantis
“The woke mind virus represents a war on the truth. So we will wage a war on the woke. We will fight the woke in education. We will fight the woke in the corporations. We will fight the woke in the halls of Congress. We will never, ever surrender to the woke mob. We will make woke ideology, leave it to the dust bin on history. It’s gone.”
Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com
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