DES MOINES, Iowa – All of the forces that have unexpectedly made this presidential contest epically memorable, and often entertaining, were expected to collide at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday.
Donald Trump, the television personality turned GOP presidential contender – in what may be a state-fair first – arrived in a helicopter. And just in case that wasn’t enough to impress Iowans, the colorful billionaire planned to allow local children to go up for a free ride. Trump, meanwhile, planned to check out the fair’s famed cow carved out of butter.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner, also made an appearance at the fair Saturday, with an entourage of security, staffers and a swarm of reporters shouting questions. And rounding out the presidential hopefuls roster Saturday was U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is also running for the Democratic nominee and has been quickly climbing in early polls and attracting massive crowds at rallies.
Given the attendance of those three, chances are many Iowans will show up just to see what happens.
The Iowa State Fair is already a bit of a spectacle itself, as summed up in this slogan: “Nothing compares.” More than a million people attend each year to inspect hundreds of farm animals, listen to live music, ride the Ferris wheel, play games on the midway, have a couple of beers or eat several days worth of calories in one meal.
Given that Iowa is home to the first-in-the-nation presidential nominating contest, the state fair has become a rite of passage for those who dream of becoming the next president. But it’s also a political obstacle course that has tripped up many previous candidates. In that laid-back atmosphere – and with a stomach roiling from consuming who-knows-what – it’s easy to get too casual, too flippant, too funny, too trusting of reporters with cameras. With time have come these lessons: Don’t wear a suit. Don’t order the corn dog – and if you do, don’t jam it straight into your mouth. Don’t cut the line to see the butter cow. Don’t get grease stains all over your shirt. And don’t say things such as: “Corporations are people.”
Trump and Clinton are already opting out of one beloved state fair tradition: the Des Moines Register Soapbox, an opportunity for presidential hopefuls to share their vision for the future of the nation with fairgoers – and get mercilessly heckled. The risk is high. After all, the soapbox is where former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2011 made the “corporations are people” comment, a damaging gaffe that followed him to the election. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, a Republican, took the soapbox challenge as he visited the fair Friday and was endlessly pelted with questions about the legacy of the two former presidents in his family and the Iraq war.
Clinton is already being criticized for not partaking in the tradition. Trump – who is often too eager to answer questions – is likely skipping the soapbox because of an ongoing feud with the Register.
For Clinton, the fair will test her retail-politics skills, as critics and rivals have painted her as an impersonal and aloof politician who is unable to connect with voters. Her campaign has largely focused on placing her in settings with small groups of voters, although she did attend a Fourth of July parade in New Hampshire last month – only to have her appearance overshadowed by hecklers and outrage over her staffers using a rope to keep reporters away from the candidate. Bush brought this up during his fair visit Friday: “I campaign the way that I would govern – out amongst everybody, no rope lines, totally out in the open.”
Several candidates have already made their requisite pilgrimage to the state fair this year – and braved the soapbox. Bush strayed from his strict Paleo diet Friday, eating a pork chop and deep-fried Snickers bar (both on a stick, of course) and downing a beer well before lunchtime. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a Republican, and his wife sampled some pork Thursday morning. That afternoon, former Democratic senator from Virginia Jim Webb schmoozed with a George Washington doppelganger, and former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, a Democrat, posed for selfies in front of the butter cow.
Washington Post staff writer Philip Rucker contributed to this report.
