唐纳德·特朗普周一在爱荷华州达文波特举行了一场竞选活动，就在三天前，佛罗里达州共和党州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯(Ron DeSantis)被广泛认为是前总统在共和党提名中最强硬的对手以前说过话在同一个东河镇的一个赌场房间里，只有几百人站着。

特朗普在周一的活动中说:“我认为我们在这里会做得很棒。”“我向爱荷华州和美国人民做出了这些承诺，我遵守了我的每一个承诺，现在我们正在为我们将要做的事情制定一个大胆的前瞻性愿景。当我们宣誓就职的时候，我们会夺回美丽的白宫，我们会一起成为美国第47任总统。”

“在我就职的几个小时内，我将取消拜登的每一项残酷对待我们农民的政策，”他说。

这是特朗普自11月宣布2024年入主白宫以来首次访问鹰眼州，但这不是他第一次在关键的提前提名州。现在开始第三次竞选总统，特朗普在过去八年里举办了多次集会，并因将以前可靠的紫色州变成“可靠的MAGA据点”而受到好评。

“特朗普总统的美国第一政策继续在爱荷华州东部的男男女女中产生共鸣，并将推动他在全国第一的党团会议中取得压倒性胜利，”他的竞选团队在他的行程开始前的一封电子邮件中说。

周五，仍未宣布的德桑蒂斯启动了他在2024年总统周期中的第一次爱荷华州竞选活动，随后是周六在提前投票的内华达州的访问，并在预定的新罕布什尔州停留之前，所有这些都是在他私下向盟友暗示他打算在5月或可能在6月参加竞选时，熟悉他计划的消息人士告诉美国广播公司新闻。

周一，特朗普在前往爱荷华州的途中与一群记者谈到了德桑蒂斯的政治命运，称他后悔在2018年支持德桑蒂斯竞选州长，称“这家伙死了。他已经死了……我可以这么说，”特朗普告诉政治。

“我说，‘你现在死定了，你不会去的，没有代言能救你。乔治·华盛顿救不了你。他说，‘我告诉你，如果你支持我，我就有机会，’”特朗普说。

特朗普指责德桑蒂斯此前支持一项法案，该法案将立即结束可再生燃料标准，该法案规定可再生燃料的特定比例是国家燃料供应的一部分。

乙醇是爱荷华州的主要产业，对该州的许多农民来说是一个关键问题。

“好吧，记住这个——罗恩·德桑切斯...不和谐的...罗恩·德桑切斯强烈反对乙醇。你知道吗?我们甚至不知道他是否参选，但我还是告诉你吧。如果他不参加竞选，我会说他在乙醇上很好，别担心，”特朗普在演讲中说。

“他强烈反对乙醇，并且处处与之抗争。他还会再做一次。因为早出来做事的人，那是他们去的地方。政治上，但他对乙醇非常非常不在行。他一路买下来，还反对社会保障，”他说。

特朗普本人在担任总统期间面临农民的批评，因为他给予一些小型炼油厂乙醇豁免，允许他们在燃料中掺入乙醇。

特朗普谈到了他的教育优先事项，包括允许父母投票选举学区校长，结束学校的疫苗授权，禁止变性女性参加女性体育运动，解散联邦教育部，将其职能重新分配给各州。

“我正准备动手——扣动扳机。长期目标，但现在是短期目标，”特朗普说。

周五在达文波特，德桑蒂斯吹捧他对佛罗里达州教育的立场，他说这是基于“教育我们的孩子，而不是灌输我们的孩子。”

这位州长推动了他的全面保守议程，包括禁止高等教育机构使用任何资金来支持多样性公平包容或关键的种族理论。

“我们还带头确保我们的学校系统专注于教育我们的孩子，而不是灌输给我们的孩子，”德桑蒂斯说。

“还有，大学扩大了我们的整个系统。立法机关正在进行重新设计。我们正在消除所有的部门官僚主义。这是歧视……“我们将在立法机关与工人斗争，我们将在教育领域与工人斗争。我们将与觉醒的人和企业战斗，我们永远不会向觉醒的暴民投降。我们的州是沃克去死的地方，”他说。

这个话题是爱荷华州共和党人的一个胜利议题，因为共和党州长金·雷诺兹一再吹捧她在教育领域在共和党成员中的领导地位。德桑蒂斯上周在爱荷华州巡回竞选时坐下来与奥巴马交谈。

雷诺兹是第一批增长派批评者警告说，这可能会破坏他们州的公立学校系统。

特朗普也表示支持普及择校。

“我想祝贺爱荷华州最近成为全国第二个提供普及学校选择的州，”特朗普告诉雷诺兹。

由于他们在共和党初选中领先，特朗普和德桑蒂斯在爱荷华州的决斗事件可能表明他们各自的力量展示。特朗普在爱荷华州的竞选中仍然处于领先地位，尽管最近几个月他对已确认和预期的挑战者的领先优势有所减弱。

“我怎么会输掉爱荷华州呢?这怎么可能呢?特朗普周一在达文波特说:“我前几天的民调显示，支持率大幅上升。

周五，就在特朗普周一访问的前几天，一个新的得梅因纪事报/Mediacom爱荷华州民意调查发现如果前总统唐纳德·特朗普再次成为共和党提名人，74%的爱荷华州共和党人表示，他们可能会在2024年的大选中投票给他——尽管自2021年6月以来，表示“肯定”投票给他的爱荷华州人数减少了20多个百分点。

但是投票我还发现，德桑蒂斯的支持率与特朗普不相上下——仅落后于这位前总统两个百分点。

但特朗普对爱荷华州的激光般关注在周一达文波特访问之前开始，他的东部爱荷华州领导团队宣布，“在鹰眼州的一个关键地区，最保守和最有影响力的共和党领导人展示了支持，”他的竞选电子邮件说。

立法支持者包括特朗普总统手下的前代理司法部长马修·惠特克(Matthew Whitaker);来自爱荷华州的前国会议员罗德·布鲁姆;州众议员鲍比·考夫曼，爱荷华州共和党主席杰夫·考夫曼的儿子，等等。

特朗普的访问也正值多项刑事和民事调查仍在积极调查他的个人财务、他离开白宫后对机密信息的处理、他的同名企业以及他推翻2020年总统大选结果的努力。

全国各地几个司法管辖区的这些调查正在继续向前推进，最近几周出现了许多关键进展。

Trump campaigns in same Iowa city DeSantis visited Friday

Donald Trumpheld a campaign event in Davenport, Iowa, on Monday, just three days after Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis -- widely expected to be the former president's toughest opponent for the GOP nomination --spoke beforea standing-room-only crowd of several hundred in a casino room in the same eastern river town.

"I think we're going to do fantastically here," Trump said at his Monday event. "I made those promises to the people of Iowa and America and I kept every single one of my promises and now we're laying out a bold forward-looking vision for what we will do. When we take the oath of office and we get back that beautiful, beautiful White House and we become together the 47th President of the United States."

"Within hours of my inauguration, I will cancel every Biden policy that's brutalizing our farmers," he said.

It was Trump's first visit to the Hawkeye State since he announced his 2024 White House bid in November, but it's hardly his first time in the critical early-nominating state. Now embarking on his third presidential bid, Trump has over the past eight years hosted a number of rallies, and takes credit for moving the formerly reliable purple state to a "reliable MAGA stronghold."

"President Trump's America First Policies continue to resonate with the men and women of Eastern Iowa and will propel him to an overwhelming victory in the First-in-the-Nation Caucuses," his campaign said in an email ahead of his stop.

On Friday, DeSantis, still undeclared, launched his first Iowa swing of the 2024 presidential cycle -- followed by a Saturday visit in the early-voting state of Nevada and ahead of a scheduled New Hampshire stop, all while he's privately indicated to allies he intends to launch his candidacy in May or possibly June, sources familiar with his plans told ABC News.

Trump addressed DeSantis' political fortunes with a group of reporters on en route to Iowa on Monday, saying he regretted endorsing DeSantis for governor in 2018, saying, "This guy was dead. He was dead as a doornail … I might say that," Trump toldPolitico.

"I said, 'You are so dead right now you are not going, no endorsement is going to save you. George Washington won't save you.' He said, 'I'm telling you, if you endorse me, I have a chance,'" Trump said.

Trump lambasted DeSantis over his previous support -- while serving in Congress in 2017 -- of a bill that would have immediately ended the Renewable Fuel Standard, which mandates that specific percentages of renewable fuel be part of the nation's fuel supply.

Ethanol, a major industry in Iowa, is a key issue for many of the state's farmers.

"Okay, so remember this -- Ron Desanctus ... Desanctimonious ... Ron Desanctus strongly opposed ethanol. Do you know that? And we don't even know if he's running but I might as well tell you. If he's not running, I'll say he was fine on ethanol, don't worry," Trump said in his speech.

"He strongly opposed ethanol and fought against it at every turn. And he's gonna do that again. Because people that come out early for something, that's where they go. Politically, but he was very, very bad on ethanol. He bought it all the way and he also fought against social security," he said.

Trump himself faced criticism from farmers while president because he granted ethanol waivers to some small refineries, giving them an exemption from blending ethanol into their fuel.

Trump addressed his education priorities, which include allowing parents to vote for school district principals, ending vaccine mandates in schools, barring transgender females from participating in women’s sports and breaking up the federal Department of Education and redistributing its functions to the states.

“I was getting ready to do it -- pull the trigger. The long-term goal, but now it's a short-term goal,” Trump said.

On Friday in Davenport, DeSantis touted his stance on Florida education, which he said was based on "educating our kids not indoctrinating our kids."

The governor pushed his sweeping conservative agenda that includes prohibiting higher education institutions from using any funding to support Diversity Equity Inclusion or Critical Race Theory.

"We're also leading on ensuring that our school system is focusing on educating our kids not indoctrinating our kids," DeSantis said.

"And also, university wide our whole system. The legislature is working on a redesign. We're eliminating all of the DI bureaucracies. It's discriminatory …"We will fight the woke in the legislature we will fight the woke in education. We will fight the woke and the businesses we will never ever surrender to the woke mob. Our state is where woke goes to die," he said.

The topic is a winning issue with Iowa Republicans, as GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds has repeatedly touted her leadership among members of the GOP in the area of education. DeSantis sat down for conversation with during his Iowa sweep last week.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis greets people in the crowd during an event, Mar. 10, 2023, in Davenport, Iowa.

Ron Johnson/AP

Reynolds was one of the first of agrowing factionof Republican governors who have embraced school voucher programs, which critics warn could destroy their states' public school systems.

Trump also expressed his support for universal school choice.

“I want to congratulate Iowa on recently becoming the second state in the nation to deliver universal school choice,” Trump told Reynolds.

As they lead in early Republican primary polls, Trump and DeSantis' dueling events in Iowa could indicate their respective shows of force. Trump remains a frontrunner in the race among Iowans, though his lead over confirmed and expected challengers in polls has waned in recent months.

"How the hell would I lose Iowa? How is that possible? And then I got a poll the other day that was way up," Trump said in Davenport on Monday.

On Friday, just days ahead of Trump's Monday visit, a a newDes Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Pollfound that if former President Donald Trump were to be the Republican nominee again 74% of Iowa Republicans say they would likely vote for him in the 2024 general election -- although the number of Iowans who say they would "definitely" vote for him has decreased by more than 20 percentage points since June 2021.

But thepollalso found that Desantis' favorability numbers were on par with Trump's–just two points behind the former president.

But Trump's laser-like focus on Iowa kicked off Monday ahead of his Davenport visit with an announcement of his Eastern Iowa leadership team "demonstrating support from the most conservative and influential Republican leaders in a key region of the Hawkeye State," his campaign email said.

The slate of legislative endorsees include Matthew Whitaker, the former acting attorney general under President Trump; Rod Blum, a former congressman from Iowa; and state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, the son of Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann, among others.

Trump's visit also comes as there are multiple criminal and civil investigations still actively probing his personal finances, his handling of classified information after leaving the White House, his namesake business, and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

These investigations in several jurisdictions around the country are continuing to move forward, with numerous key developments unfolding in recent weeks.