Donald Trump and other GOP presidential hopefuls attended the big Iowa vs. Iowa State football game on Saturday — and all got a mixed reception from fans of the Hawkeyes and the Cyclones. In controlled environments — that is, smaller sections like tailgating scenes — where the candidates’ advance teams could help set the tone, warm and cheerful enthusiasm greeted the candidates.
As political commentator Ron Filipkowski phrases it, “So, basically everywhere the advance men for Trump and DeSantis could control at the Iowa State game there were cheers and every place they couldn’t people were booing and flipping birds.”
Trump arrives at the game to a mixture of boos and cheers. pic.twitter.com/EFykqDOoOc
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 9, 2023
Trump made forays into the crowd, as above, but was ensconced in a luxury box for much of the contest, where it was clear not everybody was a fan of the former President — and some, as Filipkowski notes, showed their disaffection with obscene gestures.
Iowa State is now my favorite team. pic.twitter.com/gN1HOWPkLf
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 10, 2023
Donald Trump got flipped off at the Iowa-Iowa State game after getting booed — and he wasn’t the only Republican presidential candidate to get the middle finger from the crowd. https://t.co/sKceH4mJe2
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) September 9, 2023
Former Trump communications honcho Dan Scavino posted a clip that gives a different feel, as Trump walks through a smaller section of the crowd in a stadium walkway to chants of “USA, USA.”
.@realDonaldTrump at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa—for the Iowa vs. Iowa State🏈game… pic.twitter.com/zboDfYIM9x
— Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) September 10, 2023
Trump was trolled from the sky also, as a small aircraft flew over the stadium trailing a banner that asked “Where’s Melania?” (It’s a question campaign watchers and prosecution watchers have been asking.)
With Trump in attendance at the Iowa-Iowa State game, a ‘Where’s Melania?’ banner flies over the stadium. pic.twitter.com/RZIczNVFau
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 9, 2023
Ron DeSantis, Trump’s closest rival for the nomination, distinguished himself from Trump by eschewing a suit and tie and taking his game seat in the crowd with Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds. But mixing in with the people didn’t mean he was seen as one of them — the Florida governor also got to know the middle fingers of lewdly gesturing Iowans.
He’s loved wherever he goes. pic.twitter.com/ac1VwymDWA
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 10, 2023
[NOTE: Iowa State hosted the game, which was held at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa — a stadium named for Iowa State’s first African American athlete, who died of injuries sustained during a 1923 game against Minnesota. The visiting Hawkeyes topped the Cyclones 20-13.]
