A view of Donald Trump from the driver’s seat

In May 2015 Donald Trump got into my SUV and sat next to me in the front seat. We headed from the airport in Cedar Rapids to Waverly where he would give a speech to Wartburg College students. On the way he bought stock, Toro and Jacobsen, did a radio interview and quizzed his Iowa people on projected attendance and polling numbers. We parked at the rear entrance where Trump and his entourage entered the auditorium. The students dropped their backpacks along the outside walls of the auditorium and went inside. For an hour those books, calculators and phones sat naked to the outside world, yet remained unmolested.

While I waited for Trump to come out I visited with a group of high school girls who skipped class to hear Trump talk. They asked me questions about politics and about Trump and we had a good 45-minute talk while Trump was talking to the papers, radio and TV. Trump and his entourage finally emerged. He made his way through the crowd signing autographs and taking pictures until he got to my SUV, he turned and waved and as we drove off with the windows down we heard a chorus in the crowd yell, 'Goodbye Marty”, while his entourage gasped. It was priceless.

At the end of a long day we arrived at the Hotel Julien in Dubuque, Iowa and unloaded luggage for the night. Trump's entourage was now treating me like a leper. Outside the Julien I told Trump that I knew he had a long day but would he take a picture with me. He said, 'Long day eh,” and smiled, stood next to me and had his bodyguard who had scoffed at me take the picture.

I spent time with Trump on three more occasions and I saw a change in him. Numbers were still important but when he shook hands and when he was out of earshot from the crowd he would say, 'These are good people, I love these people.” Running for president was no longer merely a contest to win. Trump was now running for the people. People figure out when they are seen as a crop to be harvested rather than individuals to be reasoned with, especially in Iowa and now when Trump leaves a venue no one is saying, 'Goodbye Marty”, but, 'We love you back Donald”, and I think that's why he won.

' Martin Wenck, of Iowa City, is a writer and designer and former limousine driver who has chauffeured several notable visitors to Eastern Iowa.