President Donald Trump rallied Republicans at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City on Thursday, Oct. 22, 12 days before the Nov. 3 election, KTIV reported. It was held on the day and at the site KSCJ reported on Oct. 21. Our Oct. 21 preview covered the logistics.

When it started

Doors opened Thursday afternoon, and speakers took the stage starting in the 4 p.m. hour, KTIV reported. Trump began his speech around 7:15 p.m. and ended around 8:45 p.m. Before the rally, KSCJ reported that his remarks would start around 6:30 p.m. and that attendees would be directed where to park and enter.

Radio Iowa reported that Trump spoke to more than a thousand people. The Sioux City Journal put the crowd at about 2,000. The Journal reported that about 100 supporters were in line at the airport around 11 a.m., and KTIV reported hundreds in line. Journal photo captions show attendees filing into a hangar and others waiting in an overflow area. None of the reports linked here describe traffic, parking or weather problems.

Who spoke

Speakers included Senate candidate Ashley Hinson, governor candidate Zach Lahn, 4th District candidate Chris McGowan, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann, KTIV reported. Radio Iowa reported that 2nd District candidate Joe Mitchell and Attorney General Brenna Bird also spoke, and Des Moines Register photo captions show Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, speaking. Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, both R-Iowa, who face competitive races, did not attend, Iowa Public Radio reported.

Trump called Hinson "fantastic" and invited her on stage, Radio Iowa reported. She told the crowd: "We are ready to make sure we do not send Josh Turek to the U.S. Senate in 12 days, aren't we?"

McGowan, a Sioux City native, told the crowd, "They expect Iowa-4 to do the heavy lifting for the rest of the state," the Journal reported. Lahn suggested that the "fake news media" was putting out "fake polls" to depress turnout, according to the Journal.

Mitchell gave Trump a framed certificate that declared him "The Man of the Century," Radio Iowa reported.

What Trump said

Trump urged supporters to vote. "Pretend I'm on the ballot," he said, according to the Journal. He warned that if Democrats win the midterms, "it's the start of something very bad, very dark, very horrible for our country."

He praised Hinson as "a mother, a warrior, a patriot," IPR reported, and cast Turek as a "woke, far-left radical," the Associated Press reported. He attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and "lock her up" chants about Omar started, the Journal reported. IPR reported that he "returned to his false claims that he won in 2020."

Fuel and farm money

"In more breaking news, my administration is using the Defense Production Act to release $150 million to increase American refining capacity to produce more diesel and gasoline at record levels," Trump said, Radio Iowa reported. The reports linked here do not say which refineries would get the money or when.

He touted the $8 billion diesel relief fund for farmers, Radio Iowa reported, and his order "waiving off-road requirements for red-dye diesel," the Journal reported. WOI reported that he promoted a proposed $5,000 payment for every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans win control of both the House and Senate, which he said tariff revenue would fund.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said before the rally that it will be interesting to see "whether they will continue to believe what the president says," WOI reported. At an Iowa Democratic Party news conference on Wednesday, Oct. 21, Madison County farmer Ryan Marquardt said the diesel aid is "going to come too little, too late," IPR reported. RNC spokesperson Zach Kraft said in a statement that Trump "will be delivering the fuel Republicans need to supercharge turnout and keep Iowa red," WOI reported.

Protests

KTIV reported multiple protests in Sioux City in the hours before the rally, with protesters gathered near the rally's parking area. Organizer Garie Lewis told KTIV, "People are losing their Medicaid; people are losing their EBT." Iowa Democrats held an 11 a.m. event at Pearl Street Park downtown to criticize Hinson, the Journal reported. The paper said Democratic protesters also gathered in a grass field across the parking lot for rallygoers, with signs and an inflatable pig to mock her "Save Our Bacon Act."

Lewis was later escorted out during Trump's speech for yelling, "That's a lie," according to the Journal. IPR reported that police escorted "a couple of people" out of the rally.

Next stop: Dubuque on Nov. 1

Trump will hold a midterm rally in Dubuque on Sunday, Nov. 1, KCRG reported on Oct. 22. Doors are set to open at 2:30 p.m., the event to begin at 4:30 p.m. and Trump to speak at 6:00 p.m. An RSVP is required. As of Oct. 24, the official event page listed the venue as "To Be Announced." Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Others on the ballot

Other candidates are on the Nov. 3 ballot in each of these races. Ballotpedia lists Democrat Josh Turek and Libertarian Thomas Laehn for U.S. Senate, Democrat Rob Sand for governor and Democrat Nate Willems for attorney general. In the 4th District, it lists Democrat Dave Dawson and independent write-in candidate Jermaine Decker. In the 2nd District, it lists Democrat Lindsay James, Libertarian Rick Stewart and independent Dave Bushaw.

About this story

TFS News has no tie to any campaign, party or committee and takes no payment from them. This story is based on the published reporting linked below.