In Sioux City, Trump vows rebound in Iowa

SIOUX CITY - Dismissing recent polls that show his presidential campaign is slipping in Iowa, Republican candidate Donald Trump told a Sioux City audience his business acumen would lead to a national rebirth.

'I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever made. Now look, everybody knows that, especially God. Everybody knows that,” Trump told a crowd estimated at 2,300 in the West High School gymnasium.

‘The biggest crowds'

Trump riffed extensively on the need to better secure the border with Mexico to halt illegal immigration. He criticized Democratic President Barack Obama and several of his 14 Republican challengers, most notably those who have super PACs backing them. And he blasted the lack of a strong, coherent foreign policy.

During a 70-minute appearance, Trump continued his practice of tough talk and pushing his business skills as the foundation for a great presidency. He said he has a plan for tax reform but did not offer any dollar or percentage details.

Trump's appearance was the largest event of any presidential candidate in Sioux City this year, far surpassing the typical gatherings of a few hundred people at events.

'We have the biggest crowds, we have the most enthusiastic crowds,” Trump said.

Trump did not address a protest taking place outside the school, with about 650 people saying Sioux City school officials should not have allowed Trump to speak at a public school. The protesters said Trump has spread an anti-immigrant message.

Poll Awareness

Tuesday's appearance came on the heels of Trump's fall from the top of polls in Iowa that had him leading the GOP field during the summer and early fall. A Loras College Poll of likely Republican caucus participants released Monday put Trump at second with 18.6 percent, behind the 30.6 percent for retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and ahead of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who had 10 percent. In all, four Iowa polls in the past week had Trump falling from the lead position.

Trump showed he was acutely aware of his place in those polls, citing the drop in the first two minutes of his speech and returning to the topic twice more.

'Iowa, will you pick your numbers up, please?” he asked at one point.

Later, he told the crowd, to laughs, 'If I lose Iowa, I will never speak to you again.” Trump then predicted he would win the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, the first contest in the presidential selection process.

Super Pac Criticism

Trump, 69, has garnered personal wealth of more than $1 billion from a series of high-profile business deals since the 1980s. He said it is a victory for democracy that he's not relying on donations but instead using his own money to conduct his campaign.

Trump slammed the super PACs, saying he has strong doubts that those who run them adhere to the legal prohibition on coordinating strategies with the candidates they've been formed to support.

'What do you think the chances they talk are? One hundred percent or 99 percent?” he asked the crowd.

'It is a scam, and it should be stopped. It is unfair to somebody like me who is spending my own money.”