SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (NewsNation) — Republican presidential candidates are keeping their feet on the gas ahead of the Iowa caucuses Jan. 15.
Most of the GOP hopefuls are speaking to Iowa voters this weekend, including former President Donald Trump’s first rally in the state.
Compared to his opponents, Trump has spent the least time campaigning in Iowa, but that’s expected to change as he positions himself as the only alternative to the sitting president.
President Joe Biden will kick off his 2024 pitch to voters Friday, the day before the anniversary of the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by posing the question of whether democracy is still a “sacred cause” worthy of sacrifice.
Biden will speak from near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where George Washington and the Continental Army spent a bleak winter nearly 250 years ago. And he’ll talk about how Washington spoke to his army about democracy as a “sacred cause.”
In contrast, Trump is expected to talk about a so-called “two-tiered” system of justice as he goes into the third anniversary of the riot.
Trump, who faces 91 criminal charges stemming from his efforts to overturn his loss to Biden and three other felony cases, argues that Biden and top Democrats are themselves seeking to undermine democracy by using the legal system to thwart the campaign of his chief rival.
Trump is still leading in Iowa, but his approach this time is much different than what we saw in 2016 when then-contender and Sen. Ted Cruz won the state.
Trump’s approach this time is more grassroots, where he’s opting to speak at more intimate venues.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.