Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, who is widely believed to be his likely opponent in the presidential run in 2024, intended to compete against one another in dueling events in Iowa on Saturday. These events were scheduled to take place in the state.
On Monday, Mr. DeSantis spent the day meeting and greeting people at an annual picnic hosted by a congressman, and then he traveled to Cedar Rapids for a fundraiser held by the Iowa Republican Party. It is possible that he will make the announcement that he will run for president at any moment now.
The Donald Trump rally that was scheduled to take place tonight in Des Moines was forced to be canceled owing to the presence of a tornado watch in the area. The event was scheduled to take place outside.
His critics on the right seized on the fact that Mr. DeSantis moved on with his own hand-shaking and voter engagement just a few minutes away from the location where the former president was due to speak, and they pointed to this as evidence.
A Republican strategist suggested on CNN that there is a possibility that Donald Trump is anxious about the possibility that Ron DeSantis would be able to draw a larger crowd than he will be able to.
