DeSantis Campaign Press Release - Breaking: Trump Scrambles the Jets to Iowa as Top Advisor Confirms Move to Hawkeye State

Trump campaign's recent actions in Iowa confirm two-man race between DeSantis and Trump

Tallahassee, FL - Just days after the Trump campaign attempted to criticize Ron DeSantis for moving staff to Iowa as a sign of weakness and less than two months after MAGA Inc claimed they were "pivoting to the general election," top Trump advisor Chris LaCivita confirmed to Bloomberg that this is a two-man race between Trump and DeSantis by acknowledging that he too will be relocating the Hawkeye State.

In a brutal report for the Trump team, Bloomberg noted how their recent moves in the Hawkeye State "show the outsized importance of Iowa for Trump's campaign" and how "A loss [in Iowa] would damage his invincible reputation and provide an opening for DeSantis."

"Donald Trump is very late to the game and is now scrambling his jet to Iowa because he knows just how disastrous it is going to be to lose to Ron DeSantis in January. But anyone who understands Iowa knows that a Caucus victory has to be earned - it can't be bought. Ron DeSantis has long-planted his flag in Iowa and the Trump campaign is going to have do more than spend millions of dollars against him to capture it. It's now game on." - DeSantis deputy campaign manager David Polyansky

Bloomberg's new story comes as Trump has faced criticism for his "lagging campaign operation" in the Hawkeye State and as Ron DeSantis is set to visit 16 counties in Iowa this weekend, bringing his total to 74 on his way to completing the "Full Grassley."

The highlights from Bloomberg's story are below and you can read the full article HERE.

Donald Trump is intensifying efforts to win the Iowa Republican caucuses, trying to avoid a less-than-muscular victory in a critical early state

Trump nonetheless wants to leave nothing to chance, given he faces what will be a fiercely contested challenge there from his chief rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and still bears scar tissue from his 2016 second-place finish in the state.

There are discussions within Trump's campaign about one of his top advisers, Chris LaCivita, relocating temporarily to Iowa, according to people familiar with the matter who asked to remain anonymous to discuss internal deliberations. "Of course I will be in Iowa," LaCivita said when asked about the plans

Trump's director for early voting states, Alex Latcham, is also shifting more of his focus to Iowa in lieu of other contests, people familiar with the matter said. And the campaign placed another aide over its state director, Marshall Moreau, who now reports to Alex Meyer.

Trump's super PAC, MAGA Inc., has $2.4 million in ad time reserved in Iowa for the rest of October, according to ad data. And the former president himself has two stops in Iowa on Saturday, a "commit to caucus" event in Waterloo and a speech in Cedar Rapids. His son, Don Jr., is also expected to speak at an Iowa fundraiser this month, people familiar said.

Taken together, the decisions show the outsized importance of Iowa for Trump's campaign...A loss [in Iowa] would damage his invincible reputation and provide an opening for DeSantis

Caucusing is more complicated than casting a traditional primary ballot and Trump's advisers are aware a portion of their supporters have not participated in a caucus before. There's a widespread effort to teach supporters about the process and ensure they're registered to vote, aides said.

Trump is also aware DeSantis' support for a six-week abortion ban could help his rival make in-roads among Iowa Republican voters, who tend to be more socially conservative than those in other early states, according to people familiar with his thinking

DeSantis's campaign is moving about a dozen staff members to Iowa, from Tallahassee, Florida. DeSantis, after three weeks without an Iowa visit, will do 19 stops in three days, and will have visited 74 of its 99 counties by the end of this weekend, aides said.