Candidates descend on state fair as fourth Trump indictment looms

August 14 "Capitol Week" is online

I’m keeping this short tonight, because I’m sure we all want to read the latest indictment of former President Donald Trump, stemming from the conspiracy he led to overturn the result of the 2020 election in Georgia.

I’m reminded of a recent observation from Bleeding Heartland guest author Herb Strentz: The first Republican president was a compassionate, humble man who rallied the nation. The most recent Republican president has more than "four score and seven" criminal indictments.

Earlier this evening, Dennis Hart was keeping one eye on the news feed throughout our radio show (which KHOI broadcasts live), in case we needed to cut in to announce new charges had been filed. That news didn’t break until around 10 pm, so we were able to get through most of our planned Iowa political topics.

Here’s the audio from our August 14 program. Remember, all past episodes of “Capitol Week” are available for free through KHOI’s website.

Topics we covered:

• We began with the news that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had convened a grand jury today, which heard testimony from some people Trump leaned on when he was trying to steal Georgia’s electoral votes from Joe Biden;

• It’s extraordinary that so many rank-and-file Republicans are sticking with Trump no matter how much evidence emerges about his criminality. The Onion hit the nail on the head with this headline last month: “Trump Campaign Worried There Might Not Be Enough Indictments To Meet All Fundraising Goals”;

• Trump popped in to the Iowa State Fair for less than two hours on Saturday. He certainly knows stagecraft. I would guess his advisers were happy with the coverage and visuals they got out of that visit;

• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was also at the fair on Saturday; in true alpha male style, he and Trump tried to outdo each other. The pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down rolled out a long list of county chairs and other endorsements on Friday, and the governor came to the fair with some Iowa House members who have endorsed him. Meanwhile, Trump showed up with several members of Congress from Florida who are backing him, and some of Trump’s supporters heckled DeSantis;

• No one expects a lot of people skills from Trump; DeSantis is under pressure to show he can relate to ordinary people;

• I watched the various presidential candidates’ s speeches on the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox and “Fair-side chats” with Governor Kim Reynolds. (They’re all online at C-SPAN.) We started with some highlights from former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s remarks, and the abortion compromise she floated (which is a total non-starter);

• I ended up writing a deep dive on Vivek Ramaswamy, which is online at Bleeding Heartland. Dennis and I were only able to scratch the surface; I’m fascinated by the way he is trying to convince Iowans he’s the best guy to bring young voters back to the GOP, while using rhetoric that is far more appealing to older voters;

• We gave a minute or so to Ryan Binkley, who can’t seem to get any attention;

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. raised several issues that might appeal to disgruntled Democrats while speaking at the Des Moines Register’s soapbox. But he stepped on his own message when he told a reporter he would sign a 15-week or 20-week abortion ban;

• Democrat Marianne Williamson was also at the fair on Saturday, touting universal health care and other progressive policies; I don’t hear many voters talking about her or RFK Jr;

• Former Vice President Mike Pence went to the fair on Thursday and dealt with a hacker at the soapbox. But at least he spoke there and took unscripted questions. Trump didn’t give any speeches at the fair, while DeSantis and Senator Tim Scott agreed to do the governor’s “chat” but snubbed the Des Moines Register';

• Pence gave the Register an interview during a campaign stop in Ankeny on Saturday; he said “There was no point in time that the president ever told me that he knew he had lost” the 2020 election;

• The pro-DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC sent Shelby County sheriff’s deputies to block Iowa Starting Line reporter Ty Rushing from entering a “private” campaign event. I’ve asked the sheriff’s office a bunch of questions about this incident, which overshadowed whatever message DeSantis was hoping would get out from his appearance in Harlan;

• We talked about the pressure on DeSantis to start gaining ground, and the opportunity he may have at the first GOP debate later this month;

• Iowa Democratic Party state chair Rita Hart is no longer committing to a January 15, 2024 Iowa caucus date;

• Minnesota Governor Tim Walz came to the fair with Hart and other Democrats to try to generate some earned media coverage;

• Governor Reynolds’ former senior legal counsel Sam Langholz will be leaving the Iowa Attorney General’s office to take up a seat on the Iowa Court of Appeals (I have a Bleeding Heartland post in progress about this). It’s the third attempt by Langholz to serve on an Iowa appellate court; the previous two times, members of the State Judicial Nominating Commission did not put Langholz on the short list referred to the governor;

• Attorney General Brenna Bird got permission to join a multi-state investigation of TikTok;

• The Des Moines Register dug into how many students from each county have been approved for “education savings accounts”; the big question is how many of the students approved were already attending a private school. If so, their local public school district won’t lose state funding;

• The overwhelming demand for the school voucher program will push the first-year costs far beyond the $107 million Republican legislators approved in May. I’ll be seeking more detailed information this fall;

• I’m sad to think of the Wallace Building being torn down, even though I’ve heard it was a terrible place to work for state employees; those gold windows produced wonderful reflections of the state capitol across the street.

That’s all for now—thanks for reading or listening! I’m working on a lot of Bleeding Heartland posts as I try to catch up after a vacation last week.

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