DES MOINES (Iowa) – In America, primaries serve to publicize candidates and their programs. But they are also a test of physical and psychological resilience; they test prospective presidents on organizational skills, empathy and communication skills. The duel is underway in Iowa, where the Republican election season will begin Monday with evening caucuses voting in weather conditions that will make voting an act of heroism (ice everywhere after today's snowfall and a high temperature above twenty degrees). under zero). (due to strong winds) there is now a neck-and-neck race between Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis: Chris Christie has retired and Vivek Ramaswamy, who has now moved into the background, is competing with the former governor of South Carolina and the governor of Florida for the role of challenger to Donald Trump, currently unattainable in the polls.
And as the former president continues to shuttle between the plains of the Midwest and the courts where his legal cases are heard, Nikki and Ron are hitting the state county by county, village by village.
DeSantis, governor of Florida, who has lagged in the polls in New Hampshire and South Carolina, the next stages of the great circus of the primaries, has bet everything on Iowa: he has the support of Governor Kim Reynolds, he has a huge initiative As an electoral organization, it held rallies in all 99 counties. But he has never topped 20 percent in the polls compared to Trump's 50 percent, and when he saw him vote yesterday in Clive, a Des Moines suburb, in a room full of onlookers and journalists, he seemed long-winded and unconvincing his slogans as a “Trumpist without Trump” and his attack on Haley, who is portrayed as a globalist and handmaiden of corporations.
To support the thesis of Trump's genetic mutation, Ron chose abortion: “He promised us that he would appoint constitutional judges who would abolish the right to abortion, and he did it.” But after the verdict and the reactions, he became afraid : He's backing down, he's no longer one.” Nikki brands her as a fan of globalization, who “flirted” with China as an American ambassador to the UN and now works for multinational corporations. The worst for him are those who try to follow the rules of environmental and social policy called ESG: he defines it as a social credit system like the one Beijing imposes on its citizens; he even talks about blackmail. He moves on stage with little grace; elegance is not one of his qualities. Finally he shakes a few hands and leaves hastily.
A completely different atmosphere prevailed a few hours earlier in Polk County, where Nikki Hakey spoke in a large room full of supporters (all white, but in Iowa blacks and Hispanics barely reached 15 percent) and journalists from major American newspapers, from CNN to New York. spoke Mal. Smiling, relaxed, she shows politeness and friendliness. He doesn't plunge the knife too deeply into his opponents' sides: Trump has done good things, but where he is, chaos is breaking out, it's an untenable situation. She then fires the Florida governor by inviting those in attendance to consult the website (which she created) DeSantisLies.com: DeSantis' Lies.
The real breakthrough comes with the polls: all polls say that de Santis would lose to Biden, while Trump is aiming for a direct duel with the president: “From the comparison with the Democratic leader, in some cases only I emerge as the winner.” Cases with more margins than 10 percent: bet on me.”
Nikki got a late start in Iowa, but now that she's growing enough in New Hampshire to threaten Trump's primacy, and with the retirement of Chris Christie giving her more leeway (he's had positions close to her). Haley also feels like I have the wind in my sails when it comes to the election on Monday. At least to overtake DeSantis and force him to surrender: the attack on the Donald's supremacy remains a gigantic undertaking. Nikki doesn't hold back: She talks to everyone, shakes hands, encourages, comforts, takes an endless series of selfies (a ritual DeSantis avoids). If every photo were voted on, he would probably win, but the 2020 caucus showed that such an equation is baseless. However, recent polls in Iowa give her hope: She rose to 20 percent, overtaking DeSantis, who fell to 13 despite the governor's support. It would be a good springboard to go after Trump.