Donald J. Trump speaks during CPAC Texas 2022. (lev radin / Shutterstock.com)
Some Republicans in Iowa are ready to move on from Donald Trump, including an influential Iowa Christian conservative leader.
Bob Vander Plaats, who serves as president of The Family Leader, told CNN’s Jeff Zeleny that many voters have expressed some fatigue with the former president, who last year launched his third bid for the nation’s highest office.
“There is an appetite for somebody other than Trump,” Vander Plaats said.
“I think there’s a little bit of exhaustion, I also think there’s people looking for the next generation of leaders.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not yet announced whether he’ll seek the Republican nomination, is scheduled to make a public visit to Iowa on Friday, and Trump is expected to make a public appearance in the Hawkeye State Monday.
Other possible candidates, including former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, along with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has already announced her candidacy, have already been in Iowa or are scheduled to appear in the Hawkeye State, where the first votes of the 2024 Republican campaign will be cast in less than 11 months.
David Oman, an Iowa Republican voter, shares Vander Plaats’ view on Trump’s 2024 candidacy.
“I’m not sure he needs a third nomination,” Oman told CNN. “Donald Trump’s message is getting a little stale, a little old, looking backwards more than forwards.”
“I think Donald Trump is the only one who can lead us back to where we were in 2020,” Iowa GOP voter Terry Pearce told CNN.
Kim Schmett, the Westside Conservative Club, acknowledged concerns over Trump’s electability.
“We like him, the question is, can he win,” Schmett told CNN.
“Right now he’s closer to getting that majority in the party than anyone else, but it didn’t work last time and we’re concerned about that.”
Watch the segment below or at this link.
Leave a Comment