GOP primary race is over – it's Donald Trump's world – Mississippi Valley Publishing
Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. High 74F. Winds light and variable..
Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: September 21, 2023 @ 8:00 am
AMES – It’s over.
From now until the Iowa Caucuses, every political commercial, political advertisement and political text message you receive is simply an exercise in futility.
And, you don’t need to listen to overpriced liars on the cable news networks, whose opinions are no more valid than yours or mine.
This primary season for the Republican party has already been established.
It’s Donald Trump’s world and we’re all just serfs trying to get a glimpse.
Which isn’t easy.
Case in point: Trump’s appearance at the Iowa and Iowa State football game provided keen insight into the minds of at least a handful of potential voters that were at the game. My family and I had heard that Trump was going to be at the game. We joked that we might even venture over to the fraternity that he was rumored to be visiting.
But when you are trying to find a parking spot within one area code of the stadium as inebriated adults young and old darted amongst the cars in the street, the thoughts of the ex-president aren’t at the forefront.
However, the duration of time between 45 and 60 minutes before kickoff were very relevant to what political scientists don’t seem to grasp. By the way, I do have a degree in political science from the University of Iowa, so my reflections are grounded in astute teachings from the finest professors in the state. With that said. I don’t understand the magic that Donald Trump has – but he has it.
He has the name recognition that is worth a billion dollars in advertising.
Whether you hate him or adore him, he has the magic of commanding an audience.
While we were waiting for all the festivities of the game to commence, there was a bank of people huddled up against a wrought iron fence or sort that prevents football spectators from trying to beat the carefully designed traffic control system.
Like anyone with curiosity, we ask some local fans if this is where Trump is going to be. They pointed to the front parking lot of the stadium and told us that if ‘The Don’ was going to be at the game, it would be at the front entrance. During the time it took for anything to happen. The Governor of Iowa, Kim Reynolds, walked with some security about 10 feet from me. Not too many people cared. Then Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, walked by with his security detail. Not too many people cared.
Everyone was focused on the obvious. The growing police presence. People perched atop the press box and the end zone camera bunker, armed to the teeth. They weren’t there to protect Vivek Ramaswamy. The ex-president, must be on his way.
About 10 minutes before kickoff, a cavalcade of lights, sirens and and limousines began to descend upon Jack Trice Stadium. A stronger contingent of people began to gather at any place they could find to get a look at the former president, and the leading Republican candidate for the 2024 cycle. Then a limousine parked. Men in suits emerged and looked around. Minutes passed.
The game is going to start soon! What do we do?!
Then he emerged.
“The Don.’ Although I didn’t get a great look from that distance, there is only one man that would command that attention and have that kind of hair.
Trump was in the house!
He went into an enclosed area presumably after signing some footballs and autographs. We gave it a shot. He wasn’t going to come near us.
Then a buzz of activity.
People began to run and scamper.
I told my family that I think he was going to be right up there, the walking area that was right above us.
More buzz.
People yelling pro-Trump slogans. People yelling anti-Trump slogans. Chants of USA, USA got louder and louder. People began to take their place in the hopes of being close to political power and the power of celebrity.
I knew he was near because I had two hands placed firmly upon my chest and was instructed to, “Back up,” from heavily muscled and armed Secret Service agents that had no intention of being secret.
Then he walked by. A few feet from the former president. I grabbed my phone to take a photo and was displaced by another Secret Service agent. I saw his profile. My son got a selfie. My wife got a thumbs up. And then he was gone.
He went into the stadium and I would not find him again. I can only recall one similar buzz and level of excitement when I was near a politician and that was George W. Bush at the straw poll in 1999, also in Ames.
I can’t predict whether Trump will be the president again, but the race for the nomination is over. There is only one candidate that has embraced the Kardashian culture. Get publicity, get publicity and get more publicity. It’s what works. And because he knows that whether it be commercials, flyers or indictments, Trump still drives the news cycle and the others are running for future cabinet spots.
Whether it will be admitted or not is inconsequential. But as far as this primary season is concerned – it’s over.
Shane Barron is a sports contributor for Mississippi Valley Publishing’s daily newspapers.
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Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. High 74F. Winds light and variable.
Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable.
A few showers in the morning, then clouds lingering in the afternoon. High 79F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
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