Donald Trump earns his highest favorability marks in any Iowa Poll

On Oct 4, 2021

© Copyright Des Moines Register and Tribune 2021

Out of the daily spotlight and openly flirting with another White House bid, former President Donald Trump will return to Iowa Saturday with better favorability ratings than he ever saw while president.

The latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows 53% of Iowans now have a favorable view of the former Republican president and 45% have an unfavorable view — his best showing ever on either metric in the Iowa Poll. Another 2% are not sure how they feel about Trump.

The numbers come as Trump begins to reengage with the state that is expected to kick off the 2024 presidential nominating process for Republicans. And they show favorable feelings for him have not waned in his absence.

Jerry Steward, an 81-year-old poll respondent and Republican from Cedar Rapids, said he views Trump “very favorably” because he doesn’t act like a typical politician.

“Doesn’t make a difference whether they were Democrat or Republican — they were all politicians,” he said of Trump’s predecessors. “He is not that. I don’t know what he is, but he’s not that.”

Trump will return to Iowa Saturday for the first time since the 2020 election, holding a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. It’s his most overt entrée back into Iowa politics, but he’s also made quieter overtures in recent months that would help lay the groundwork for a potential caucus campaign, should he choose to run.

Steward said he would be thrilled to see Trump run for president again.

“The situation we have now is very bad, and he will be able to correct that situation quicker than anybody else,” he said.

Although national Democrats have left open the possibility of stripping Iowa of its first-in-the-nation caucuses, Republicans have not made any indication they will follow their lead.

‘The Iowa caucuses are on’:Republicans say early political trips reinforce plans for 2024 caucus

Republicans with possible White House aspirations have already shown they believe Iowa will maintain its leadoff role in 2024 as they travel to the state for party fundraisers, forums and speaking engagements. Figures including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Vice President Mike Pence and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley have all made recent appearances.

But it remains to be seen whether Iowa’s Republican caucusgoers will look to one of those newer faces in the 2024 caucuses or hold out support for Trump.

Kevin Tobey, a 58-year-old Des Moines resident and poll respondent, said he is “a big Trump fan.” He likes that Trump did what he promised to do while in office, particularly around growing the economy. But Tobey, who identifies as an independent, said that in 2024 he’d love to see Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis run for president.

“We need somebody who can articulate the Constitution,” he said. “That’s something that’s getting lost today.”

If both DeSantis and Trump were to campaign…