S-N Editorial

Ronald Reagan famously said, “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.” Apparently the late president’s 11th Commandment doesn’t apply in the Hawkeye State.

Just as summer’s heat is about to peak, so too is the mudslinging from river to river. Alas, caucus season is in full swing.

Many folks may greet this news with a loud groan. With incumbent President Joe Biden slated to make another White House run, Republicans from across the country have been coming out of the woodwork over the past few months announcing their campaigns. They’re all making stops in Iowa, too, because the GOP will still hold its first-in-the-nation caucus here early next year. The quadrennial circus is something Iowans have grown to love, tolerate or loathe during the past five decades – it’s simply unavoidable and inevitable.

Even so, this year’s spectacle has already been quite unique. There’s a former president in the crowded field, and so far he’s reigned supreme. A recent Fox Business poll showed Donald Trump with 46 percent support among likely caucus-goers. That was light years ahead of the next-closest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who tallied 16 percent.

Trump – still as vicious and petty as he was in 2015 – has kept the fireworks popping all summer. To him, his Republican opponents are unworthy of being on the same ticket as he is. They are also disloyal in his eyes, a slight so sinister that it seems he’d rather see them all exiled to Siberia instead of on the same debate stage.

Trump’s petulant ire hasn’t been solely focused on his presidential adversaries, either. Iowa Gov. Kim Reyonlds, who is wildly popular in the Hawkeye State, has entered the former Commander In Chief’s crosshairs this summer. Two weeks ago, Trump criticized Reynolds for staying neutral in the race for the GOP presidential nomination – a tactic taken by a majority of Iowa governors on both sides of the political aisle in the past.

“I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won. Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events! DeSanctus (sic) down 45 points!” the former president wrote on Truth Social.

To twist the knife, Trump said he would not be inviting Reynolds to campaign events in Iowa over the next few months. The outburst raised eyebrows among both Republicans and political pundits, as many pondered the point of starting such a petty squabble.

For her part, Reynolds has remained mum about the former president’s shunning. She plans to hold “Fair Side Chats” with Republican candidates next month at the Iowa State Fair, with each one planning to attend with the exception of Trump. The governor has billed the event as a “a unique opportunity to learn more about the candidates themselves as well as their policy priorities.”

Whether or not Trump’s antics lead to a plummet in the polls remains to be seen, but the extremely safe money says it won’t. The Republican Party sold its soul to him in 2016 and it appears there’s no turning back on that decision until Trump himself says he’s done. Earning 46 percent support in a crowded field of candidates is a lot to lose even if the caucuses are six months away.

Like always, Iowans will have to just grin and bear it. It’s great to have such high levels of exposure to national political figures; however, that attention is a double-edged sword. Drama like that which comes from Trump only works to shift focus away from the real issues at hand, which is why these people are running for president in the first place.