Donald Trump will face a litmus test in just over a week as the favorite in the most surprising political gamble in U.S. history with the start of the Republican primary in Iowa. But it remains to be seen if Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis pull off an upset.
Three years after leaving the White House in unimaginable chaos, following the violent assault on the Capitol that marks three years this Saturday, the former president, under four indictments, faces the voters.
It will be in Iowa, the northern U.S. state that has traditionally opened the primary season since 1972.
Trump and his rivals are vying to unseat Democratic President Joe Biden from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the address of the White House in Washington.
"As long as Joe Biden is in the White House, the American dream will be dead," the former president said at his campaign rallies, in which he promised, as in 2016, that he would return the country "to its greatness."
'Danger to democracy'
Trump's opponents are alarmed because they believe he poses a danger to democracy, especially after he repeatedly claimed that migrants "poison the blood" of the United States.
A Donald Trump supporter pasts campaign posters in Newton, Iowa, on Saturday. Photo: REUTERS
But despite the criminal charges, which put him at risk of jail time, the former president enjoysone of the biggest advantages ever over his Republican rivals.
In Iowa and the rest of the country, Trump, with his political nose, continues to have a very loyal base that downplays his expletives and legal problems.
Trump also has an army of volunteers who have been scouring every corner of this agricultural state for months, distributing pamphlets, banners and their famous red caps.
Will it be enough to sweep the first round? The verdict will be known on January 15 starting at 19 p.m. local time (22 p.m. in Argentina), when voters gather at the state's schools, libraries and fire stations to choose their candidate in a secret ballot.
The former president's rivals
Six other Republicans will try to block Trump's path that night, but only two seem to have any chance of doing so.
On the one hand, the former ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, the new bet of the American right.
Nikki Haley, the only woman in the race for the Republican nomination. Photo: BLOOMBERG
A former governor of South Carolina, the 50-year-old is the only woman in the race and one of the few candidates who wants to continue supporting Ukraine financially and militarily.
On the other, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a conservative with radical positions on immigration and abortion.
In his race for the White House, the 99-year-old has focused all of his energies on Iowa, touring each of its <> counties. The Republican has the invaluable support of Kim Reynolds, the state's governor.
But the level of approval among the public for the former naval officer has fallen in recent months. They accuse him, among other things, of a lack of charisma.
Polls predict both at around 11 or 12 percent of the vote, a far cry from the former president's 60 percent.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, from the most conservative wing of the Republican Party. Photo: REUTERS
Will there be any surprises?
Still, observers don't rule out that one of them will spring a surprise and cut into the dizzying lead of Trump, who is seeking a landslide victory in Iowa.
Starting next week, primaries will continue in New Hampshire, on the border with Canada, and in February in Nevada and South Carolina.
One after another, the Union's 50 states will allocate their delegate quotas to candidates for the national convention in July, which will choose the Republican who will represent the party in November's presidential election.
For the 77-year-old Trump, the priority is to secure victory before the trials, some of which begin in March.
As for the Democratic Party, outgoing President Joe Biden, 81, should, barring a major surprise, be designated as the nominee in Chicago in August despite criticism over his age.
Two candidates, Congressman Dean Phillips and writer Marianne Williamson, are trying to unseat him, but the chances of succeeding are almost non-existent.
Source: AFP
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