President Donald Trump looks at the audience before giving a speech at the Horizon Events Center in Clive on Tuesday. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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CLIVE — Acknowledging historical political headwinds facing the Republican Party in this fall’s midterm elections, President Donald Trump in Iowa on Tuesday encouraged his supporters to vote for Republicans on a ballot on which he will not appear.

Trump spoke at Horizon Events Center in this Des Moines suburb. Roughly 700 people viewed the event from the main space and a few dozen more watched from an overflow room.

Outside, thousands gathered in single-digit temperatures to protest the president’s appearance.

“We can never forget what that group of morons did to this country,” Trump said, referring to Democrats. “We gotta win the midterms.”

This fall’s elections will be the first since Trump returned to office last year for his second, non-consecutive term in the White House. Historically, the party in control of the White House suffers losses in its first midterm election.

There is no presidential election in 2026, but Congressional offices will be on the ballot.

Trump called the event in Iowa the kickoff of his travel across the country to rally support for Republicans in this fall’s elections.

Audience members cheer as President Donald Trump makes his entrance into the Horizon Events Center in Clive on Tuesday. Trump encouraged the crowd to support Republican candidates in the midterm elections this fall. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Iowa promises to be a battleground election state this fall: the state has open-seat elections for U.S. Senator and governor — with the retirements of Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst and GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds — and competitive Congressional elections that are expected to prove tough re-election bids for Republican incumbents Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Eastern Iowa’s 1st District and Zach Nunn in Central Iowa’s 3rd District.

Two national elections forecasters, Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Cook Political Report, project both Iowa’s 2026 1st and 3rd Congressional District elections as toss-ups. A third forecaster, Inside Elections, also calls the 1st District a toss-up but projects the 3rd District as “leans Republican.”

The same three forecasters all project Iowa’s 2026 U.S. Senate election as “likely Republican.”

Hinson, Nunn and Miller-Meeks all spoke to the crowd before Trump took the stage Tuesday, each praising the president and Republican policies.

The stage for Tuesday’s event was bolstered with signs that read “lower prices” and “bigger paychecks” at an event that the White House had said would focus on the economy and energy policy.

Trump spoke for nearly an hour, during which he cast extensive blame on Democrats and previous President Joe Biden, praised his first year in office, touted federal Republicans’ 2025 tax policy and budget legislation, and boasted about foreign relations, international trade policy, ethanol and immigration enforcement, among others.

It was Trump’s first public event since the latest shooting death of a U.S. citizen by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, this past weekend in Minneapolis. Trump made no reference to the shooting death during his remarks, and only a passing mention about the unrest in Minnesota.

Asked by reporters before his speech at a smaller event nearby whether he plans to pull federal officers out of Minnesota, Trump replied, “We’ll do whatever’s appropriate.”

Trump’s remarks were interrupted briefly twice by protesters. The first protester could be heard yelling, “Release the files,” presumably referring to the documentation of investigations into convicted sex offender and alleged human trafficker Jeffery Epstein.

A Clive police officer removes a protester during President Donald Trump’s speech at the Horizon Events Center in Clive on Tuesday. Trump focused his speech on his improvements to the economy like tax cuts, improved housing rates and refinancing and insurance rates. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Notable from Trump’s remarks

Among other topics Trump broached during his nearly one-hour speech in Clive:

Trump referred to his potential selection of a new Federal Reserve Chairman. Trump is widely expected to fire current chairman Jerome Powell, of whom Trump has been critical. “When we have a great fed chairman, and I think we’re going to have one, I’m going to announce pretty soon, you’ll see (interest) rates coming down a lot,” Trump said.
Trump said U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, both Republicans, are working on legislation to make the E15 blend of ethanol available for sale across the country all year. “They’re working hard. They’re very close to getting it done,” Trump said. “John will be sending me a bill very shortly supporting year-round E15 to my desk very quickly, and I will sign it.”
Three Iowan businesswomen — a salon owner from Dallas Center, bar general manager from Ankeny and a bartender from Davenport — spoke during the event to highlight the elimination of taxes on tips in the federal legislation referred to by Republicans as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” and thank Trump.
Trump said John Deere Chairman John May was with him in Iowa on Tuesday, and that the company plans to build a new, $70 million factory in North Carolina. It is one of two new facilities announced Tuesday by the company; the other is a new distribution center in Indiana. Trump claimed the company is able to build the new facilities because of tariffs his administration has applied in international trade; the company also, however, has laid off hundreds of workers in Iowa in the past two years.

Trump also visits Des Moines conservative group

Shortly before his remarks at the events center, Trump visited the Westside Conservative Club, a group that meets regularly at a Machine Shed restaurant in suburban Des Moines to discuss conservative politics.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, diners greeted Trump with shouts of “Welcome to Iowa” and “Iowa loves you,” according to press pool reports. Nunn joined Trump at the restaurant and also attended the main event.

Trump has been fond of Iowa, which went for him in all three of his presidential campaigns.

Trump was last in Iowa in July, when he talked about the signing of Republicans’ tax policy and federal budget legislation, and the country’s 250th anniversary celebration.

“I love this place (Iowa),” Trump told reporters at the restaurant. “This was the beginning of my politics, right? They’ve treated me well right from the beginning.”

Trump on economic issues

President Donald Trump reacts as he speaks at the Horizon Events Center in Clive on Tuesday. Trump focused his speech on his improvements to the economy like tax cuts, improved housing rates and refinancing and insurance rates. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

The White House, in a press release issued in advance of Tuesday’s event, touted gas prices in Iowa, pointed to the state’s economic growth, and Iowans’ projected savings under last year’s federal tax policy legislation.

Iowa’s GDP grew 5 percent in the third quarter of 2025, according to data published last week by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Relative to Iowa’s Midwest neighbors, the state’s GDP growth was better than Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri, but lagged South Dakota and Kansas.

Iowa is one of 22 states in or near a recession, according to recent analysis by Moody’s Analytics.

Iowa’s GDP grew by an average of .08 percent during Trump’s first, four-year term, and by an average of 2.5 percent under Democratic former President Joe Biden, according to federal data.

The average price of gas in Iowa on Tuesday was $2.57 per gallon, according to AAA. That is the lowest Iowa’s average has been since late 2020, according to historical data compiled by GasBuddy.

Economic experts say a U.S. president’s policies have a limited effect on gasoline prices. As the U.S. Energy Information Administration has said, gasoline costs primarily are driven by supply and demand.

The White House also pointed to Iowa’s low energy costs, compared to the rest of the nation. Iowa’s energy portfolio is boosted by its wind and biofuels industries.

During his speech, Trump talked about claims that this fall’s election will be about affordability, and claimed that was a word that Democrats “made up.”

“We’re also making America affordable again, a problem caused solely by the crooked Joe Biden administration,” Trump said. He added later, “It’s a word that they came up with, affordability. … The first time I heard about it was like a few months ago. ‘This election is all about affordability.’ Well, they’re the ones (Democrats) who caused the problem.”

Democrats draw attention to economic issues

Community members gather outside of the Horizon Events Center in Clive on Tuesday to protest the arrival of President Donald Trump. Protesters called out topics like the presence of ICE and the Epstein Files. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Democratic-aligned groups held press calls ahead of Trump’s appearance, arguing administration policies and recent congressional actions have worsened affordability for Iowa families.

A new report from Progress Iowa and the bipartisan Cost Coalition cites higher grocery and utility prices, rising health insurance premiums following the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, and projected Medicaid reductions that could strain rural hospitals and clinics.

Republicans counter that recent tax legislation and federal investments show the administration is delivering relief. The White House has said tax cuts passed last year will lead to larger refunds this year, with some economists projecting average refunds could rise by $1,000 or more. Iowa Republicans have also pointed to federal funding secured for rural hospitals through the Rural Health Transformation Program, though Democrats argue the grants cover only a fraction of approved Medicaid cuts.

National Democrats, meanwhile, sharply criticized Trump’s economic record ahead of the Iowa visit. Democratic National Committee Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman said Iowa is considered “high risk” for a recession, citing a late-2025 Moody’s Analytics analysis that identified Iowa among states facing slowing growth, a weakening labor market and underperformance in manufacturing — a key driver of the state’s economy. The report noted Iowa’s economic growth has lagged the nation for several years.

More recent federal data, however, show stronger short-term performance. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Iowa’s real gross domestic product grew 5 percent in the third quarter of 2025, outpacing the national average and ranking 13th nationally. Personal income grew at an annual rate of 3.7 percent. Sentiment among Iowa businesses also remained positive late last year, according to the Iowa Business Council, though employers cited workforce challenges, regulations and supply chain issues as top concerns.

Democrats also pointed to forecast declines in farm income — projected to fall 24 percent in 2026 — and recent layoffs at agriculture-related manufacturers including John Deere, Bridgestone, Kinze Manufacturing and Tyson Foods, which they attribute in part to trade policies and tariffs.

Republicans pushed back, citing slowing inflation and a recently announced $12 billion federal aid package for farmers dealing with low crop prices and high input costs. In a statement, the National Republican Senatorial Committee said the administration is “rebuilding the greatest economy in the world,” while Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, of Marion, argued in an opinion column that tax cuts, lower energy prices and easing inflation show the economy is “back on the right track.”

Critics say conditions on the ground remain mixed, particularly in agriculture and manufacturing. Recent reporting by The New York Times has highlighted higher equipment costs and lost export markets tied to renewed trade disputes, with economists warning continued trade restrictions are squeezing farm incomes and the industries that depend on them.

As Trump promotes his economic record in Iowa, Democrats argue many families are still feeling the strain of higher costs and job uncertainty — and are looking for concrete relief rather than campaign rhetoric.

Lori Hunt, a Des Moines resident and breast cancer survivor who purchases coverage through the ACA marketplace, said the loss of enhanced tax credits has sharply increased costs for people who rely on the program after losing employer-sponsored insurance.

“We have a lot of words and a lot of spin coming out of Washington, but we don’t have action,” Hunt said, urging lawmakers to restore the credits to keep coverage affordable for families, farmers and small business owners.

Tracy Chew, one of 209 workers recently laid off from CNH Industrial’s Burlington plant, said her family’s economic stability has been upended. Her husband, daughter and son-in-law all work at the facility.

“This economy is absolutely atrocious,” Chew said, arguing promises that tariffs would protect American manufacturing have not materialized. “Families like mine have paid the price.”

Gazette Deputy Bureau Chief Tom Barton contributed to this story.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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