By Sarah Smith
(BBC) – On the night a dozen of Donald Trump’s Republican rivals spoke at the same event in Iowa, only one challenged the former president head on – and he was roundly booed. It highlights the grip Mr Trump still has on his party.
Someone backstage at the Lincoln Dinner clearly had a mischievous sense of humour.
As each of the candidates hoping to become the Republican Party’s presidential nominee for 2024 walked out to speak they were accompanied by a blast of music: a clip of the country song Only In America.
When it was Mr Trump’s turn, two lyrics, describing two alternative paths that could await someone in the US, seemed particularly poignant:
One could end up going to prison
One just might be president
The 45th President of the United States didn’t seem to mind. He doesn’t try to hide from the fact that he is already facing two criminal trials and may soon be indicted in two more cases. In fact, he wears these charges as a badge of pride.
Mr Trump insists he is being unfairly targeted for purely political reasons.
He told the crowd of 1,200 Republican supporters at this dinner in Iowa – a key state because it will hold the first election in the race for the nomination next January – that he would not have been prosecuted if he was not running for the White House again. And he would not have been prosecuted if he was not winning.
