Former U.S. President Donald Trump used his inaugural 2024 trip to Iowa to retaliate against Democratic President Joe Biden and assail his Republican primary opponent Nikki Haley. Speaking before hundreds of supporters just ten days before Iowa's pivotal party conference, the first event in the race for the Republican nomination, Trump delineated a grim picture of the United States.
Describing America as a "helpless" nation plagued by "terrorists" and mentally unstable immigrants surging across the Mexican border, Trump responded to Biden's recent warning about the dangers of re-electing Trump. During an event in Pennsylvania, Biden specifically criticized Trump's conduct on January 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump's supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers were certifying Biden's victory in the 2020 elections.
Trump is likely to face Biden in the November elections. Before a rousing crowd in northwestern Iowa, Trump asserted, "Nothing has improved under the fraudulent
Joe Biden's term. Everything is in disarray."
Trump also attacked his competitor Haley, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for two years of his term. Despite trailing Trump by over 30 points in Iowa, Haley is outstripping him in the state of New Hampshire.
"Throughout her career, Nikki Haley was in the pocket of the open borders donors," Trump claimed.
Retorting to Trump's allegations, Haley's team cited her record from when she was the Governor of South Carolina.
Haley's Communications Director responded, "
Donald Trump may not remember that Nikki Haley passed one of the strictest illegal immigration laws in the country in 2011, because he was still a liberal in New York City."
The brewing rivalry between the former President and his past UN envoy hints at a contentious battle for the Republican nomination, with trade of sharp words marking the early phase of the 2024 presidential race.