Donald Trump won’t be attending the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines later this week. The former president has other plans.
But Trump will be back in Iowa next week for a second town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity, eschewing influential Christian conservative leader Bob Vander Plaats‘ cattle call of Republican presidential candidates for his own political show.
Vander Plaats, who has said it’s time conservatives “turn the page” on Trump, is hosting his annual summit on Friday. Most of Trump’s rivals for the GOP nomination will be there — including former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, Ohio businessman and anti-woke crusader Vivek Ramaswamy, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump’s nearest competitor in the polls.
The summit is a big deal.
Put together by Vander Plaats’ Family Leader, a suburban Des Moines-based evangelical Christian organization that aims to inspire “Christ-like leadership in the home, the church, and the government,” the summit is now in its 12th year. It’s seen as a top stop for conservative candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination in the first-in-nation caucus state.
If nothing else, the day-long event is a great way to meet a lot of potential Iowa Caucus-goers. Approximately 1,800 people attended last year’s summit, billed as “the Midwest’s largest gathering of Christians seeking cultural transformation in the family, Church, government, and more.”
But Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the Family Leader, has reportedly earned the ire of the former president, who will forgo the Iowa summit for Turning Point Action’s conference this weekend in West Palm Beach, Florida. DeSantis, who will be at multiple campaign events in Iowa Friday and Saturday, isn’t expected to make the conference in his home state.
Trump’s campaign said a “scheduling conflict” will keep him from the Iowa summit.
“Unfortunately there is a scheduling conflict and the president will be in Florida this weekend headlining the premier national young voter conference with Turning Point Action conference while DeSantis is nowhere to be found,” a Trump campaign spokesperson told the New York Post this week.
It’s interesting to note that Ramaswamy and fellow Republican presidential candidate, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, are confirmed to attend both the Des Moines and West Palm Beach events.
University of Iowa political science professor Tim Hagle said presidential candidates in primary season have all kinds of choices to make amid myriad invitations. But as it was noted this week, even a “scheduling conflict” is a choice.
Trump’s choice, political observers say, has all the markings of intentionality. In this case, Trump would be turning his back on a conservative leader in the Iowa evangelical movement who has been an active critic of the former president.
“Why would President Trump show up to a cattle call event hosted by a vocal anti-Trumper, where the goal is to help the host rather than the candidates? That makes no sense,” a Trump ally told The Iowa Star.
There’s a history here.
In 2016, Vander Plaats, a supporter and campaign co-chair of then-presidential candidate U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, told NBC News that he supported a possible “Plan B” for delegates to vote against Trump at the Republican National Convention.
“Everything’s got to be on the table,” he said at the time. “Practically speaking, do we think it’s even remotely possible that someone could come out of Cleveland other than Trump? … It’s highly unlikely, but it’s been an exceptionally unprecedented election. And maybe the unprecedentedness continues.”
Earlier this year, Vander Plaats told The Hill on NewsNation that Americans are looking to move on.
“If we’re gonna have a conversation about what happened in the past, or vengeance about what happened in the past versus about a compelling vision for the future, we’re gonna get beat in 2024. I think America is exhausted by it. I think they’re tired of it,” Vander Plaats said.
He added: “I think they (Americans) want to turn the page to the next generation leader, someone who’s got a compelling vision that might unite America around things that actually bless America.”
In the same interview, Vander Plaats blasted Trump for blaming Republican-led pro-life bills for the staunching of the expected “red wave” in November’s elections. The conservative activist blamed Trump.
The former president “could have said, ‘Hey, look. I’m the guy who gave you three Supreme Court justices that overturned Roe v. Wade,’ but instead he then alienates himself from the pro-life community by saying, ‘You’re the reason we didn’t do better in 2022,’” Vander Plaats said.
When Trump this week accused Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds of getting a little too cozy with the DeSantis campaign while insisting she is staying “neutral” in the Republican primary contest, Vander Plaats sprang to the popular Republican governor’s defense.
“Forest Gump says, ‘stupid is as stupid does.’ My Mom says don’t call anyone, ‘stupid.’ So, I won’t,” Vander Plaats tweeted after Trump’s Truth Social post criticizing the governor. “However, this isn’t smart. Iowa is wide open.”
Forest Gump says, "stupid is as stupid does." My Mom says don't call anyone, "stupid." So, I won't. However, this isn't smart. Iowa is wide open. #ChooseWell2024 pic.twitter.com/QELzyW1gIo
— Bob Vander Plaats (@bobvanderplaats) July 10, 2023
Trump, the lead elephant by far in the 2024 GOP presidential nomination chase, has a long memory. He’s a first-rate grudge holder.
But could his “scheduling conflict” cost him important evangelical Christian votes in the critical kick-off caucus state?
Maybe.
Hagle said the Iowa evangelical vote isn’t a monolithic block. Pro-life issues remain a priority, but religious liberties are under attack, and a long list of other concerns are on the minds of faith-based voters.
Trump encountered a lot of skepticism from conservatives when he entered the race in 2015. It took time for his message to resonate, for conservatives to get comfortable with the brazen former reality TV star and business mogul as a presidential candidate. Hagle said Trump’s support among evangelical Christians solidified when he agreed to nominate conservatives on the Federalist Society’s list of qualified jurists to the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump did just that, and those justices came through with the monumental overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“Given that abortion has become a state issue, evangelicals don’t need Trump the way they did before, that is to say they don’t need a president to appoint conservative Supreme Court justices,” the political science professor said.
But loyalty for Trump runs deep in Iowa, a state that delivered wide margins of victory for the Republican in 2016 and 2020. Polling shows Trump remains well ahead of his GOP opponents in the Hawkeye State.
But Trump still needs Iowa, Hagle said, like his rivals need Iowa. A win early builds momentum, a greater sense of inevitability — which is exactly what Trump is trying to sell with his strong polling numbers. That’s a big reason why he is talking about skipping the Republican Party presidential debates.
“He’s the former president, he probably doesn’t want to be seen at events where he’s seen to be competing with other folks challenging him,” Hagle said. “So he seems to opt for these things where he’s the only one on stage, like the town halls.”
Trump will be back in Iowa soon. He plans to do the town hall with Hannity from Cedar Rapids. The show is scheduled to air at 8 p.m. Tuesday on Fox News. He held a rally in western Iowa a week ago Friday.
Clearly, the first-nominating state is important to Donald Trump.
“If Trump can deliver a knock-out win in Iowa that makes for more smoother sailing in the primaries,” Hagle said.
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
