Trump courts evangelicals in Iowa

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa—Seeking to recover from his controversial convocation at Liberty University on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump reached out to another strategic group of evangelicals Saturday morning at a private Christian college in Northwest Iowa.

Introduced with a prayer that began with “Thank you for Donald Trump” and went on to mention Trump more times than God, the billionaire businessman weighted the front end of his speech at Dordt College with his thoughts on Christianity: “I’m a true believer. Is everybody a true believer in this room?” The overflow crowd at the school’s B.J. Haan Auditorium cheered loudly in response to his question.

Saying Christianity is “under tremendous siege” and “losing power,” Trump, who describes himself as a Presbyterian, assured the evangelicals in attendance that if he were elected, Christians would have plenty of power: “You will be very, very well represented.”

Other than promising that the nation will say “Merry Christmas” under a Trump administration, Trump did not offer other details on how he’d protect the religious liberty of believers.

Dordt College is part of a community rooted deeply in the Reformed faith. Sioux Center is a proven conservative political stronghold in the state—voting more than 80 percent Republican in the last presidential election. Other GOP candidates have made visits to the area in recent months, with Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz holding rallies in the past two weeks at the college, hoping to lock in the area’s undecided caucus-goers.

But Trump pivoted away from his faith soon after he began today’s speech and did not delve into the Bible like he did at Liberty, when his quoting of a verse led to some derision for calling Second Corinthians “Two Corinthians.”

Instead, he covered a variety of topics using a freewheeling style that showed little organization and very little dependence on notes. He spent most of his time on stage bashing an array of people, including his own supporters: “They say I have the most loyal people. I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?”

The muffled laughter in response didn’t match his expectations, with some in the audience shaking their heads in disbelief.

Trump also took shots at members of the media, calling them “horrible people.” He singled out political commentator Glenn Beck, who endorsed Cruz earlier today, calling him “a stone-cold loser.” As for those currently running the country, they were “stupid” and “do-nothing” politicians who have been “living off the trough” of big government. “And where have they taken you?” Trump asked. “Maybe they are smart, but they are not streetwise. Our people are babies.”

On the day Iowa’s largest newspaper, The Des Moines Register, announced its endorsement of Rubio in the Republican race and Hillary Clinton in the Democratic contest, Trump focused his attention on Cruz, his biggest rival in the Iowa caucuses.

Trying to plant doubt in the minds of voters about Cruz just nine days before the caucuses, Trump said it would be a “big risk” to nominate the senator from Texas since he was born in Canada. Trump even mused about filing a lawsuit over Cruz’s eligibility to be commander in chief.

But Trump did not give his other rivals a pass. He called much of the political establishment weak, pathetic, and low energy. He mocked Jeb Bush for using his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, in a commercial and suggested the former Florida governor’s campaign money would be better spent as donations to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Sometimes referring to himself in the third person, Trump had plenty to say about himself as well: praising a recent cover story in Time magazine, boasting about how a candidate forum that went on in New Hampshire without him had low attendance, and touting his polls numbers: “I like polls. I love them because I’m No. 1 in all of them.”

Trump did not hit many policy specifics during his remarks. He mentioned creating jobs and raising taxes on imported goods, and outlined what eminent domain was, but he gave few details to back up his claims.

“Why talk about the polls and press?” attendee Juanpi Benítez asked afterward. “Policy is what Trump should be focused on.”

Lines for today’s event formed well before its scheduled 11 a.m. start and stretched through the center of campus despite temperatures near zero. Some students reportedly lined up as early as 3 a.m.

Protestors also staked out a spot on campus, including Jeremy Vreeken, a Dordt senior studying literature, who said he was bothered by America’s worship of celebrities: “I’m really into symbolism, and knowing that a symbol like Trump is going to be idolized in our auditorium—a place that symbolized the worship of Christ—really creeps me out.”

Erica Hughes, a student protestor from California, said she felt threatened by Trump’s rhetoric: “What does it mean to love your neighbor? A man who treats immigrants and minorities more like a commodity that can be bought for labor or votes rather than as brothers and sisters in Christ is not a Christian.”

Trump supporters were also vocal. Frank Martinez, a construction worker from Sibley wore an American flag–patterned shirt and led a number of chants during the rally. “I support his ban on Muslims,” Martinez said, “at least a temporary ban until we can figure out how to vet them.”

A Trump campaign volunteer told me she wasn’t a supporter until she heard him speak recently. “When I actually heard what he had to say, I was convinced,” said Rita, who wouldn’t give me her last name. “I trust that he will know who to put in place to carry out their job better than most politicians.”

When I asked her about Trump not talking about his faith nearly as much as other candidates, she said, “It’s not what he’s about. … I hope he values his faith, but his other values and qualities I think are enough to convince me to vote for him.”

Trump wrapped up his Saturday in Iowa by tweeting his plans for tomorrow morning, “Just left a great event in Pella. Going to church tomorrow in Muscatine, Iowa.”

Edward Lee Pitts contributed to this report