OPINION BY KATE MESSAM

The Democrats have been at the forefront of the Iowa caucus this week, with very little heard from the Republicans. President Trump rallied in Iowa just a day before our arrival and has shown minimal concern about the competition he faces during the caucus. However, just because he has had little representation this week does not mean that his support in the state is nonexistent. 

“In the Polk County GOP office, the elected volunteers were distributing Trump 2020 signs to all the voters who wished to have them,” said Wadsworth High School senior, Logan Egleston. “The GOP was doing call banking, mailing caucus information, and really anything they could to get the registered Republicans in the area out to their caucus to vote.” 

While at an Iowa GOP office, Egleston and Bruin staffer Seth Smalley sat down with the chairman of the Polk County Republican Party, Nick VanPatten, and co-chairman Connie Schmett. The four discussed many matters the GOP deals with daily, and talked about one specific topic on the volunteers in the office. 

“They all love Donald Trump. They all love what is going on in our economy and what is happening overall in our state in the United States of America, which is beautiful,” said VanPatten.

Trump has faced almost no opposition from the Republican’s, and there are no complaints on my end. With the smallest amount of resistance coming at him from his own party, Trump has no real reason for putting much energy into campaigning. What we are doing today in Iowa for the Republican Party does not really matter, though, and President Trump is aware of its unimportance in his bid for re-election. It’s what we do after the caucus in showing our support for Trump that really makes an impact. The continuation of preaching the good he has brought to this nation is what his campaign will rely on.

Trump has taken great satisfaction in his thriving economy, and us as Americans should as well. The U.S. is going through an incredible decrease in unemployment, the lowest rate in half a century. His tax cuts have also had an enormous impact on the economic growth in our country.

On another note, the president has expressed his overwhelming support of the military through numerous actions taken to better the U.S. armed forces.

Local Iowan Gary Leffler travels around the state in support of President Trump, bringing along his famous Trump tractor. The tractor is covered in patriotic symbols, “Keep America Great” flags, and other insignias. Leffler uses the tractor as a way to represent the president and his policies, and all he has done for America. On the inside of the tractor are all the names of Leffler’s family members who served in the military

“What President Trump has done for our military, restoring our military to its honor and to our country’s presence around the world, how can you turn and look the other way on that? It’s for that one reason alone that I can support our president,” said Leffler.

Trump has shown the country that, despite his trademark politically incorrectness and impulsive tweets, he is the one to lead the nation for four more years. A president is not someone who needs to be the nice guy all of the time. They need to be someone who can do what is best for the country as a whole because they love the land they live in. That kind of president is Donald Trump.

Trump has the capability and the assets to leave the presidency once his four years are over, but he is choosing to run for re-election because he cares about the well-being of the United States. He is here because he wants to fight for the security of the American people.

“President Trump is not a typical Republican, and despite some character flaws, he is constantly improving his ability as President of the United States,” said Egleston. “You can’t please everyone, but Trump knows his crowd, and they support who he is.” 

The only candidate who has sincerely impressed me while on this trip is Pete Buttigieg. However, I do not believe his platform is big enough to even come close to competing with Trump. No one has a platform that large and detailed. The president’s dominance is felt so strongly by the Democratic Party that at all of the rallies we have attended, Trump is nearly all the candidates have spoken about at their rallies. President Trump’s policies are the most well-known among Americans, and whether people like him or not, he has the biggest voice and influence over the nation.