REAL DUBUQUE NEWS (RDN)
"Pretend I'm on the ballot": Trump rallies Iowa Republicans in Sioux City
LOCAL NEWS WIRE • October 23, 2026
President Donald Trump stumped for Iowa's top-of-ticket Republicans in a packed Sioux City airport hangar Thursday night, telling the crowd to vote Nov. 3 as if he were on the ballot, 12 days before the midterms.
KEY FACTS & RECORD HIGHLIGHTS
- Where: Sioux Gateway Airport hangar, Sioux City, Iowa. Trump's seventh visit to the city, per KCAU.
- Schedule: doors 2:30 p.m., program 4:30 p.m. Trump's remarks were listed at 6:30 p.m. CT on the White House daily guidance, settling the RNC's 6:00 vs KCAU's 6:30 question in KCAU's favor. Air Force One touched down just before 7 p.m. and Trump took the stage shortly after, wrapping around 9 p.m. CT.
- Speakers ahead of Trump: Republican Party of Iowa chair Jeff Kaufmann, U.S. Senate nominee Ashley Hinson (about 12 minutes), governor nominee Zach Lahn, Rep. Chris McGowan and Attorney General Brenna Bird. U.S. Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn did not appear, and Trump did not mention them.
- Crowd: no official headcount released. The hangar filled and the crowd spilled onto the pavement outside, per the Des Moines Register. KCAU reported supporters lined up from early morning, with more than 30 protesters set up several blocks from the entrance.
- Stage announcements: Trump said he was invoking the Defense Production Act to expand American diesel and gasoline refining capacity, and touted the $8 billion Harvest Fuel Relief Program, with an estimated $400 million headed to Iowa farmers.
- Endorsements: Trump called Hinson "a mother, a warrior, a patriot" who "is all that stands between the people of Iowa and communists controlling the United States Senate," and called Lahn "a real Trumper for a long time."
- Next: Trump announced he returns to Iowa on Nov. 1, with a rally set for Dubuque.
SIOUX CITY: President Donald Trump told thousands of Iowa Republicans gathered Thursday night at Sioux Gateway Airport to treat the Nov. 3 midterms as a vote for him. "I'm asking you to pretend I'm running," he said. "Pretend I'm on the ballot." Reuters quoted the fuller version of the line as "Pretend I'm on the ballot, because if you get out, we're going to win big."
"I love this place," Trump said as he took the stage. "I know you're not all farmers, but I love farmers." Attendees had lined up from early morning, and inside the hangar had been decked out in royal blue draping, American flags and Make America Great Again signs. The crowd chanted "We want Trump!" as "Eye of the Tiger" played, and cheered as Air Force One flew by before landing.
Each of the candidates spoke ahead of Trump, urging the crowd to vote and ignore the polls. Hinson, running for U.S. Senate against Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek, told the crowd, "Iowa could very well be the majority-making seat in the United States Senate. If we lose this seat here in Iowa, the Democrats will control the U.S. Senate, mark my words." Lahn, running for governor against Democratic state Auditor Rob Sand, said, "If there is a blue wave in this country, it's going to crash into a red wall in Iowa."
Trump aimed some of the night's sharpest lines at Hinson's and Lahn's opponents. He called Turek's record "radical" and "disgraceful," saying, "I wouldn't want to be running in Iowa with that record." On policy, he pointed to the $15 billion steel plant planned for southeast Iowa, calling it possibly "the biggest steel plant in the entire United States," and said diesel relief for farmers would come through the Harvest Fuel Relief Program.
The rally also underscored the strains in Iowa's Republican ranks. Nunn and Miller-Meeks, both facing difficult reelection races in battleground House districts, voted last month to limit Trump's war powers in Iran, and neither appeared at the rally. A top Republican super PAC has pulled financial support from Miller-Meeks' race. A New York Times/Siena poll of likely Iowa voters conducted Sept. 22 to Oct. 1 found 40 percent approving of Trump's job performance and 58 percent disapproving.
Trump closed the night with a return date: a second Iowa rally Nov. 1, in Dubuque.
Photo: Official portrait, Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
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