A TV-savvy incumbent flies in on the day of the Democratic caucuses, provoking accusations that he is hijacking the national press corps and upstaging the eight candidates vying to be his opponent in November.
Not Donald Trump — but Ronald Reagan in Iowa in 1984 on his way to an eventual 49-state win, powered by an economic recovery and a revival in national confidence.
Trump campaign officials say their primary-raiding tour — taking in Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada over the next three days — is not modeled on Reagan’s convention-busting precedent but plays instead to their candidate’s unique gifts and the demands of a modern campaign.
“This is based on Donald Trump and his ability to connect with people and to draw crowds,” said Tim Murtaugh, director of communications for the Trump 2020 campaign. “And in Iowa and New Hampshire, it was a great opportunity to use the fact that you had Republican caucus or primary events in those states to build our ground game, to gather data, to flex our organizational muscles, and for the president to energize his supporters.”
The mass rallies were a highly visible part of Trump’s unlikely 2016 victory, generating hours of free television time. This time around, campaign officials say the events are a powerful way of turning supporters into volunteers and collecting phone numbers and email addresses of attendees.
Democrats fear the early campaign launch gives Trump a huge head start while their candidates slug it out in a crowded primary field.
Trump appeared at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa, four days before Democrats in the state gathered to pick a candidate. In Manchester, New Hampshire, his rally was the day before the Democratic primary and had the added benefit of shutting down city center streets just as his opponents were shuttling around on their final push.
The events were credited with mobilizing support and driving record turnout for an uncompetitive GOP nomination race. Trump won more than 31,000 votes in the Iowa Republican caucus, beating President Barack Obama’s 25,000 in his 2012 reelection effort. And in New Hampshire, he won almost 130,000 votes — more than double Obama’s number.
This week, the president is out West. He is in Phoenix on Wednesday, Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Thursday, and Las Vegas on Friday, a day before Nevada’s primary. Charlotte, North Carolina, comes at the start of next month, ahead of its Super Tuesday primary.
Murtaugh said the president had always planned to do a Western swing.
“These are key states that the president can and will win in 2020,” he said. “And if it draws attention away from the Democrats in Nevada, then gosh, what an unbelievable coincidence.”
The sentiment is similar to 1984. While Democrats complained at Reagan’s appearance in Iowa, on the same day as the caucus, Republicans could only smile. As James Lake, press secretary for the Reagan-Bush campaign, told the New York Times: “I must say, it’s always fun to see your opponents squirm.”
That contrast was on full display on Wednesday. Trump appeared onstage in Phoenix, in full election campaign mode, while six Democratic hopefuls clashed in the ninth televised debate as they battle it out for their party’s nomination. It marked the first appearance of former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is expected to draw much of the fire from the other candidates.
Brad Bannon, a Democratic strategist, said it was classic counterprogramming, drawn from strategies used by TV networks. “The Democrats will have two to three hours tonight, and how do you counter that? By having your own programming,” he said. “Democrats are going to have to wise up.”
He added that the sooner the candidates could call a truce and turn their fire on Trump, the better. The danger was that the Trump campaign was already far ahead in organizing for the general election, raising money and deploying its messaging.
“What we have is a situation where the Democrats beat each other up, and then, Donald Trump beats them up,” he said.
