Some of the Republican candidates are in for the Iowa State Fair on Saturday, campaigning for some votes.
Among the Republicans who showed up in Iowa was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He was followed by a rude group trying to disrupt his events.
On Friday, he was stalked by these two lovely people who wore shirts saying “B**ches get things done.” They were yelling about “pudding fingers” and swinging cowbells.
Bit of a skirmish at DeSantis’ first stop of the day in Iowa. Two protesters here are drowning out his remarks shouting “pudding fingers” and someone supporting him is trying to get them to stop. pic.twitter.com/xEtmd2M3c9
— Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) August 11, 2023
One of them got in a bit of a tussle with a DeSantis supporter.
But then on Saturday, more of them seemed to come out while DeSantis was at the Iowa State Fair, doing a spot with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. Reynolds spoke to a few of the candidates, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. During his remarks, DeSantis spoke about his success in Florida and parental rights in education, among other topics.
The activists tried to make noise with whistles and cowbells to drown out his remarks while Reynolds implored them to behave and be “Iowa nice” rather than the nasty, noisy characters they were being.
“Hey, you know what, you know what? We’re in Iowa,” Reynolds told the disruptors. “And in Iowa, we’re Iowa nice. So, let’s give everybody the opportunity to hear our candidates.”
But they didn’t care and just wanted to drown out anything they disagree with. They are allowed, in their minds, to be as loud and disruptive as they want. But you’re not even allowed to talk.
One of them lost it and tried to go after one of the people in the crowd who sort of looked like he was security.
Armed with whistles and cowbells, a few liberal demonstrators (Tshirts: “Bitches Get Stuff Done” & “Be Gay Fund Abortion”) aim to interrupt DeSantis at the Iowa State Fair
They just crank up the speakers pic.twitter.com/Zeb3bwcDpX
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) August 12, 2023
Ms. Blue Hair was read the riot act by an officer of the Iowa State Patrol, who said she had to stop or leave the fairground.
They must not have behaved themselves because it didn’t end well for them. At some point, the authorities lost patience with their nonsense and you could see the multi-colored hair twins being hauled away, screaming like banshees about the cruelty of it all.
Protesters who had been blowing whistles and ringing bells during DeSantis interview get removed. pic.twitter.com/gtjdgoha3P
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) August 12, 2023
The bigger problem for DeSantis was the greater question for him: how does he move up on former President Donald Trump?
Trump’s plane flew in right over a DeSantis event, as DeSantis was flipping burgers trying to woo people. The plane got cheers.
Warning for graphic language:
Trump Force One flies overhead as DeSantis speaks.
"That's his f–king plane!" shouted one person in excitement.pic.twitter.com/ZsW5Nb282S
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) August 12, 2023
JUST NOW: Iowa crowd listening to DeSantis looks up and cheers as Trump’s plane flies overhead pic.twitter.com/w433I3InRX
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) August 12, 2023
Then DeSantis had to wade through a crowd that was waiting and cheering for Trump.
Gov. Ron DeSantis walks through a crowd chanting “We love Trump” and “We want Trump” pic.twitter.com/IBjOWcEH1i
— Lalee Ibssa (@LaleeIbssa) August 12, 2023
That’s the bigger hill to climb for DeSantis since he’s anywhere from 30 to 40 points behind Trump, at this point, depending on what poll you are looking at. He’s obviously hoping to make inroads at big events like this, where he can talk to the people. But as we reported, Trump was casting a long shadow not only with his plane but also after he arrived at the event, bought food for people, and said he would stand behind Iowa farmers.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece was edited post-publication for clarity.)
