(Picture credit Matt Johnson)
SIOUX CITY — With the midterm elections just days away, both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are crisscrossing the country, holding rallies to boost turnout. This includes stops in normally strong Republican states like Iowa, where Trump held a rally on Thursday that stretched late into the evening.
While campaign stops for a sitting president are nothing new, the concept of a “Trump rally” has been something of a cultural phenomenon since the 45th and now 47th president first descended the escalator at Trump Tower in 2015.
Aiming for the Front Row
Few knew this as well as members of the Front Row Joes, a collective of roughly 80 to 100 people who began regularly meeting one another at Trump campaign events in Iowa ten years ago, often in custom baseball-style uniforms.
“We would notice the same people getting to these rallies towards the front of the line,” said Kevin Lake. “Well, you’re in the line for hours, you’re gonna talk to each other, and then it just kind of formed organically.”
The first in line for Trump’s Thursday rally, however, was David Reecher, who camped out overnight after arriving at 6 p.m. Wednesday evening.
“I’m too fired up for Trump to sleep. I only slept about 45 minutes,” Reecher said. “I actually live in southwest Kansas, so this was about a nine-and-a-half-hour drive.”
Reecher has been to six Trump rallies and was first in line for the past four, including the rally in Grand Island on Oct. 5. His next stop is a rally in Lubbock, Texas, scheduled for Oct. 27.
A Family Affair
The Sioux City rally drew around a thousand people to a hangar at the Sioux Gateway Airport, with many more spilling out onto the tarmac outside.
Many of them included families with multiple children, like the Delaney family—Connor (16), Allie (13), and Carolyn (11)—who traveled from Yankton, South Dakota.
“We thought it was probably our last chance to get to one, and it was close enough by that we could,” said Sonya Delaney. “Just a chance to get out and see what this is all about. It’s a good chance for the kids to find out a little bit more about politics.”
Chase, a fifth-grader from Madison, South Dakota, was not yet born when Trump took office for the first time. He traveled two hours with his mother, Alicia, to attend their first Trump rally together, where they sat in the bleachers behind the stage.
“I just like politics, and I feel like he’s a good man … He’s trying to make America great again—with my hat,” Chase said, pointing to his MAGA hat.
Many others in the crowd dressed for the occasion, with one man dyeing his beard red, white, and blue. Another guest, Beth Fitzl of Marquette, Iowa, came in a red sequined gown with matching shoes.
And like nearly every Trump rally, vendors with merchandise lined the road to the event. Lee from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has been to around 20 Trump rallies over the past 11 years, including the gathering in Washington, D.C., on January 6.
“That was four days of weird,” he said, quickly adding, “I didn’t go inside, of course.”
Candidates Making Their Final Pitch
Joining President Trump on stage was a series of candidates running for office across Iowa.
Zach Lahn is currently engaged in a tight race for Iowa governor with state auditor Rob Sand. The Plains Sentinel spoke with Lahn about his feelings on the upcoming midterms, and he was optimistic.
“I feel great—momentum,” Lahn said. “I mean, look, we have thousands of people waiting outside right now. You cannot tell me that Donald Trump does not energize his base. We are going to win these races.”
Current Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is in a tight race against Josh Turek, both running to replace outgoing Senator Joni Ernst in the US Senate.
“Josh Turek’s record is too liberal for Iowa,” Hinson said, sharing the stage with Trump. “There’s never a good time to elect a tax-and-spend liberal to the U.S. Senate. Now would be the worst time. We’re gonna keep Iowa red and keep Iowa, Iowa.”
Other candidates joining President Trump included Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, Chris McGowan, who is running for Congress in Iowa’s 4th District (which includes Council Bluffs), and Joe Mitchell, who is running to replace Ashley Hinson in Iowa’s 2nd District.
Mitchell presented President Trump with a “Man of the Century Award” in lieu of a Nobel Peace Prize while sharing the stage with him and other candidates.
“Mr. President, for the last ten years, you kept this country more safe than any other president ever. Ever. And they never give you the Nobel Peace Prize, by the way, which is a disgrace,” Mitchell said.
Tim Scott Preparing for Another Run?
Chuck Grassley, Iowa’s senior senator, also spoke on stage at the event. The Plains Sentinel asked Grassley how he felt about the upcoming midterms.
“I feel very good about them because I believe that Trump has done a great job of waking people up to the dangers of socialism in America,” Grassley said. “And I say that with some confidence because polls show that Democrats are willing to look to socialism as an alternative in America.”
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina also made an appearance. Scott ran for president briefly in 2023, and his presence at a prominent event in Iowa could lead some to believe he has aspirations for a future run. Scott told The Plains Sentinel that he was only there to support Hinson.
“I love Ashley Hinson as a candidate,” Scott said. “I think she’s positive, she’s powerful, she’s clear-minded, and Josh Turek is just too liberal for Iowa. So anything I can get out here and help her, help Ashley, I think it’s in the best interest of the country to have her in the Senate.”
The Plains Sentinel asked Scott if he had any plans or announcements slated for 2027.
“My vacation’s from January the 15th through the 18th,” Scott replied.
And will he be returning to Iowa next year?
“I hope so,” Scott said.
Trump the Showman
Now 80, President Trump still knows how to draw a crowd, and his entrance could not have been more dramatic, as Air Force One flew low past the hangar in full view of the crowd.
The president spoke for over 90 minutes in a speech that went largely off-script, often ad-libbing in his signature stand-up comedic style.
“Turek also voted in favor of deadly sanctuary cities. He voted to give lavish welfare benefits to illegal aliens, and even wrote a memo giving illegal alien criminals instructions on how to evade capture,” Trump said. “How the hell do you have this guy running? Why can’t I have somebody like that to run against? Actually, I did.”
While Trump’s visit was meant to boost Iowa candidates, his speech drifted into shots at Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar, whom he suggested had children with her brother, and also at Somalia, which Trump said “has no government, has no nothing, all they do is run around shooting each other.”
Trump spoke on many other issues, including his support of tariffs, which he said “made us rich, and I’ve been able to settle wars because of it.” He also discussed pardoning several mechanics and business owners who were convicted of violating the Clean Air Act.
“You know what they were sent to jail for? They were fixing their trucks,” Trump said. “Because they’re afraid that if you fix it yourself, you’ll take off all of that environmental bullsh*t that they burdened you with.”
At one point, Trump even pretended to leave the stage and wrap the event.
“I’ll go with a couple more of them, and then I’m just walking off the stage because what the hell do I have to keep talking for?” Trump said, discussing economic statistics. Then, after talking briefly about low poverty rates among various groups and rising levels of manufacturing, he said, “So you just heard six statistics. Ladies and gentlemen, good night. I love Iowa. Bye.”
Midterms Ahead
As the midterm elections approach, many expect Trump’s approval numbers, which is under 40% in many national polls, will be a drag on other Republicans on the ballot. For the candidates who joined Trump on stage, however, this seems not to be the case.
“If we show this enthusiasm between now and through November third, we’re gonna keep Iowa red,” said McGowan. “And that’s the commitment that we need to make to President Donald J. Trump.”
For guests like the Delaney family, seeing a sitting president up close may be more memorable than the outcome of an election, as they got to sit in the bleachers behind Trump during the event.
“We got the good seats,” said Connor. “I thought it was pretty cool just because especially we were probably about 20, 30 feet away from him. But we weren’t able to see all the facial expressions and things, but when you’re that close, I feel like that doesn’t really matter as much. … I had a phone, and I took quite a few good pictures.”
— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.