At Donald Trump’s rally in Des Moines at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, there was an important moment. About an hour into his speech, Senator Chuck Grassley was invited by the former president onto the stage. Trump proceeded to endorse Grassley’s next reelection campaign.
The 88-year-old is the longest-serving Republican in the US Senate. He assumed public office when Dwight D Eisenhower became president. Since 1980, he hasn’t faced a Republican primary opponent. In total, Grassley has won his last four reelection campaigns.
Back in January, Grassley staunchly voiced his disapproval of the US Capitol attack by Trump supporters, terming it as an “attack on American democracy itself.” This was followed by a blistering press release in February where Grassley stated that although he was voting to acquit Trump in relation to the impeachment trial, he condemned the then-president’s refusal to accept the election loss. At the time, Grassley said Trump’s language was “extreme, aggressive and irresponsible.”
Now, in October, the Iowa senator was waxing eloquent about Trump in front of his loyal crowd. “I may have been born at night, but I wasn’t born last night. So if I didn’t accept the endorsement of a person that’s got 91 percent of the Republican voters in Iowa, I wouldn’t be too smart,” said Grassley.
Although there were several Republicans who didn’t support Trump’s ascent to the party’s nomination, Trump still won with a majority. And he could do that in 2024, too. Unlike 2016, he will also have a concrete fundraising network, a more experienced campaign team, and a party hierarchy at both state and national levels to his advantage.
It’s important to note that the road to the presidency and White House runs through Iowa, despite the Biden presidency being only nine months old. Even though there are three more years until the next election, a multi-year, near-billion-dollar campaign may be what’s successful in the United States.