Iowa Democratic Party Statement Ahead of Trump Town Hall, Republican Debate

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart released the following statement ahead of tonight’s CNN debate and Trump’s town hall:

“Let me save you some time: tonight, Iowans will witness Donald Trump spout the same extreme vision of revenge and retribution he’s been parading across Iowa for the past year that puts his own interests and rich friends above Iowa families’ rights and freedoms. At the same time, just miles away, two desperate candidates racing to the bottom are hoping to stake out an extreme enough position to win over the furthest fringes of the MAGA movement. The more Iowans see just how out of sync Trump, DeSantis, and Haley are with their values, the readier they are to reject them at the ballot box.”

Here’s what you need to know about Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, and Ron DeSantis ahead of tonight’s events:

The MAGA field has shown they won’t deliver for Iowa farmers and rural communities:

  • Donald Trump proposed cuts to agriculture programs every single year he was president, and under Trump, Iowa’s exports fell by hundreds of millions of dollars.

  • Ron DeSantis has a yearslong record of opposing Iowa farm interests, from voting against the 2014 Farm Bill to cosponsoring legislation to repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard.

  • Nikki Haley vetoed aid for South Carolina farmers saying farmers had plenty of  other options to recoup their losses.

Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and Nikki Haley want to ban abortion nationwide:

  • Donald Trump is proud of his role in the overturning of Roe v. Wade and he also supported an extreme nation abortion ban as president and endorsed the idea of a national abortion ban during his campaign.

  • Nikki Haley promised to sign any national abortion ban that makes it to her desk, much like how she signed an extreme abortion ban as governor of South Carolina.

  • Ron DeSantis signed an extreme abortion ban in Florida that blocks care for women before many even know they’re pregnant and pledged to sign a national abortion ban.

The MAGA trio have all put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block, threatening programs that hundreds of thousands of Iowans rely on:

  • Donald Trump proposed cuts to Medicare and Social Security programs every year he was in office and even admitted that Medicare and Social Security programs would be on the table for cuts if he were to have another term in office.

  • Nikki Haley tried to mislead Iowans just this week by trying to hide the fact that she believes the retirement age is too low. She has made clear that given the chance she would end Social Security and Medicare as we know them.

  • Ron DeSantis repeatedly put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block as a member of Congress.

Trump has vowed to destroy the Affordable Care Act and the MAGA field has spent years backing policies that could rip away health care from tens of thousands of Iowans:

  • Donald Trump has spent years pushing to repeal the Affordable Care Act and believes Republicans should “never give up” this fight.

  • Ron DeSantis said he would “replace” the Affordable Care Act, and as governor, he continues to leave nearly a million Floridians uninsured by refusing to expand Medicaid.

  • Nikki Haley opened the door to repealing the Affordable Care and refused to expand Medicaid as governor, leaving hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians uninsured.

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