Two days after Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in a hush-money case, Iowa Republicans held a rally in Des Moines urging supporters to support Trump and other Republican candidates in the November election.
“Joe Biden’s America is the most dangerous it’s been in years,” Sen. Joni Ernst said Saturday at the annual Roast and Ride fundraiser. “His policies have made us less safe here in America than we have been in the past, but we cannot succumb to this way of life.”
When she and other Iowa Republicans took the stage, they all clearly supported the former president, despite the verdict reached by a New York jury after just 10 hours of deliberation.
“It’s time to restore faith in our justice system and end the political persecution of Donald J. Trump,” Ernst said to applause.
Trump was found guilty of all 34 charges at a criminal trial in New York on May 30, becoming the first former US president to be convicted of a crime. He was convicted of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels and keep her story from voters ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Trump faces up to four years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who said she would support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ahead of the Iowa caucuses, also gave an enthusiastic endorsement of the former president on Saturday because she doesn’t believe Trump can win the general election.
“They are weaponizing the justice system in their political persecution of our candidate and Biden’s opponent,” Reynolds said, “But I can say without hesitation that the people of this country will have a voice on November 5th. And $53 million in 24 hours is a good indication of where the people of this country stand.”
Trump’s campaign announced it had raised $53 million the day after the conviction.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, Rep. Ashley Hinson and Rep. Zach Nunn also took time onstage to support Trump.
“When Democrats know they’ve lost to President Trump, the only thing they can do is take back the House so they can impeach on day one, then try to impeach on day two, then try to impeach on day three and day four,” said Nunn, who is running for reelection in three districts.rd “As we’ve seen this week, that’s all the Democrats have as a strategy.”
When asked by a reporter whether she had confidence in the independent jury that found Trump guilty, Ernst again criticised the jury system.
“Listening to the judge’s instructions, it was something I couldn’t understand,” she said. “One juror could find a person possibly guilty of a charge and the jury could unanimously find him guilty. This is absurd. This is false. This concerns me.”
The judge’s instructions required the jury to unanimously agree that Trump used some illegal means to interfere in the election, but they did not have to agree on which means, the judge said.
Prosecutors charged that Trump used three “illegal means” to falsify business records in order to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
- He violated federal campaign finance laws through his hush money payments to Daniels.
- and falsifying other business records under New York state law, such as bank records related to payments made by former Trump fixer Michael Cohen to Daniels’ lawyers.
- It violates New York State tax law.
more:Trump hush money trial required unanimous jury for guilty verdict | Fact Check
Wesley Hunt headlines a roast and ride known for attracting White House candidates
The Ernst’s Roast and Ride is known to attract presidential candidates in caucus years and future presidential candidates in non-caucus years.
Saturday’s keynote address was given by freshman Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas, a U.S. Military Academy graduate and Iraq veteran who is on Trump’s shortlist to be his running mate.
Hunt spoke at an Iowa Republican Party event in Fort Dodge earlier this year and was the keynote speaker at Reynolds’ annual Harvest Moon fundraiser in 2022. But he said his frequent visits to Iowa are because his parents-in-law live there, not because of any ambition to one day run for the White House.
Hunt told reporters he had never discussed the vice presidency with Trump.
“President Trump has not said anything to me about this,” he said after the event. “At the end of the day, my goal is to make sure he gets re-elected and I’m going to do everything in my power to do that.”
Hunt, along with Ernst and about 140 others, were taking part in the annual motorcycle ride from Des Moines to the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
Joni Ernst plans to run for reelection in 2026
Hunt and other Republicans on stage praised Ernst, who is not running for office this year.
Ernst recently told reporters that she plans to seek a third term as a U.S. senator, but also said she would be open to joining Donald Trump’s administration if he is elected in November.
“I would be honored if I was asked to serve in the administration,” she said Saturday, “so whatever the president asks of me, I’ll be happy to do it.”
But other than that, she said she plans to run for reelection in 2026.
“Yes,” she said. “10 out of 10.”
Republicans urge participation in 2024 election despite Iowa looking ‘very red’
The rally, attended by about 700 people, came just days before Iowa’s June 4 primary, which kicks off the general election season in the state.
Republicans urged attendees to continue participating even though they appeared to have the upper hand.
“We are so red. I don’t know if we’re redder than red,” Kaufman said, “but if the Democrats continue with this stupid, idiotic, corrupt nonsense, we’re going to get even redder.”
Grassley pointed to two races that were targeted in Iowa’s first congressional election.st And threerd In these districts, national Democrats have pledged to pour resources into ousting Republican incumbents.
“You’ve got to work really hard for them in those districts,” Grassley said. “I’m not saying don’t work hard for (Randy) Feenstra and (Ashley) Hinson, but when they’re targeted, there’s going to be a lot of money pumped into those districts by the Democratic Party, and we’re going to have to work really hard to keep all four of them.”
Ernst told reporters it was important to urge Iowans to support Trump in November.
“We can’t forget, and we have to get out and vote in November,” she said. “We know we’re a Republican state, and some people might take that for granted and think, ‘He doesn’t need our support, he already has it,’ but we need to get out and we need to keep encouraging our neighbors, our friends and people in other states to get out and vote.”
USA TODAY reporter Aisha Bagchi contributed to this story.
Brianne Pfannenstiel is chief political reporter for the Des Moines Register. She also covers the 2024 presidential election as senior national elections reporter for USA Today. She can be reached at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter: @brianneDMR.
