‘Iowa way of life is under siege’ Trump warns in Sioux City rally

SIOUX CITY — For more than 70 minutes Thursday night, former President Donald Trump painted a picture of America as a place where nearly everything has gone to ruin since he left office.

"The Iowa way of life is under siege," the 45th president said at a Sioux Gateway Airport rally to support Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley in next week’s elections.

"We are a nation in decline. We are a failing nation," he said.

The self-described "law and order president" talked of open borders, violent crime, "indoctrination" of children with "twisted race and gender lunacy," cresting communism and law enforcement officers who have been enfeebled by politically correct people in power. "Out of control," was a phrase dropped into his speech more than once.

But, according to Trump, who repeated false claims about the 2020 election being "rigged" against him, Republican supporters can regain some measure of control.

"If you want to stop destruction, save our country and save the American dream, then this Tuesday you must vote Republican in a giant red wave," Trump said.

Why the stop?

Specifically, Trump made sure to tell people to cast ballots for Grassley and Reynolds, who are both up for re-election this year.

An October Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll showed Grassley with a 3 percentage point lead among likely voters over Democratic rival Mike Franken of Sioux City. Were that figure to be the final margin Tuesday, it would be the closest Senate race of Grassley's 41-year career in the upper chamber.

Trump characterized Franken, a retired three-star Navy admiral, as an "open borders extremist" and someone who is "terrible on the Second Amendment."

As for Grassley, the 89-year-old, seven-term incumbent, Trump downplayed his age and touted the legislative record of Iowa's longest serving U.S. senator.

"He looks like he's 40," Trump said. "He's helped me more than just about anybody."

The "help" Trump spoke of included Grassley's work on the Senate Judiciary Committee to help approve federal judges and three U.S. Supreme Court justices.

Then Trump, who while in office faced scrutiny from corn growers for being overly accommodating of oil refineries, said Grassley, a family farmer himself, was a staunch defender of ethanol. "He loves ethanol. I said, 'How good is it?' He said 'It doesn't matter. We want it,'" Trump said of an exchange with Grassley.

Grassley speaks

When Grassley spoke, before Trump, he told the crowd he would continue to pursue investigations into the FBI and the Biden family.

“I'm not going to give up on trying to get political bias out of the FBI. And I'm not going to give up on my investigation of Hunter Biden and the other Bidens. We follow the facts and we follow the money," Grassley said — a promise that elicited cheers of "Lock him up."

He suggested Iran is the "No. 1 perpetrator of terrorism in the world" and that the United States gives the country billions of dollars. (CNN reported in May 2021 that the Biden administration was "weighing unfreezing $1 billion in Iranian funds that the country could use for humanitarian relief, amid the negotiations for the U.S. to reenter the 2015 nuclear deal.")

Immigration

"We must immediately force the restoration of every single Trump border security measure that achieved the strongest border in the history of country by far," said Trump, who launched his 2016 campaign by saying Mexico was intentionally sending rapists and drug dealers to the country.

To do that, he told the crowd, the number of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers should be doubled and that legislation should be passed to allow for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.

While talking about immigration, Trump suggested drug dealers and drug traffickers get the death penalty, which is allowed in 27 states but not in Iowa.

Interruptions

More than once, Trump cut short one train of thought to pursue another.

Just after calling for large-scale deportations, Trump asked for his supporters, at least 60 of whom left before the event ended, to move closer to the stage and mocked the press for having a better spot. He then immediately pivoted, saying, "If you want safety for your family, and security for your community, you need to throw every Democrat the hell out of office."

Later, Trump mentioned former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (calling her "Crooked Hillary") and then riffed about getting seasick from trying to look at teleprompters blowing in the wind.

The prelude

Nearly 12 hours before the event, more than 100 rallygoers were in line to get in to a stage where My Pillow founder and chief executive officer Mike Lindell later talked about the recent Brazilian election.

Lindell, who has been repeatedly banned from Twitter for spreading false election claims, said outgoing Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro lost to former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva because 5.1 million votes were stolen during the election in the South American country.

Lindell was seen touring the event grounds with Georgia U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was one of the first candidates to speak.

"Americans are robbed, stabbed, raped, kidnapped, carjacked and murdered. But the only crime victim you hear about from Democrats in the media is Paul Pelosi," said Greene, whose remark drew a boos from the crowd.

A week ago, law enforcement officers said they responded to a break-in at the Pelosi home in San Francisco and witnessed the 82-year-old being struck in the head with a hammer. The suspect, David DePape, a Canadian man, reportedly asked "Where's Nancy?" in reference to Pelosi’s wife, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Greene delivered her remarks behind a sign which read "Save America," the theme of the evening. The slogan was one of a litany that could be found on Trump merchandise circulating throughout the airport grounds. Vendors sold flags saying "Trump 2024," "Let's Go Brandon" (a euphemistic phrase deployed as a denunciation of President Joe Biden) and "White Lives Matter," while supporters strolled around in T-shirts with slogans such as "Mean Tweets and Cheap Gas."

What's ahead?

Trump's rally came as the former president appears poised to launch a 2024 White House bid once the midterms have concluded.

"In order to make our country very successful, and safe and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again," Trump said.

As he potentially prepares to announce his candidacy, Trump continues to be mired in a litany of controversies and lawsuits. And other Republicans have beaten Trump to Iowa this election cycle to test the state’s political waters for possible White House runs.

Trump told the crowd that the reason for the lawsuits and the negativity directed his way was for one reason: "They’re coming after me because I’m fighting for you," he said.