Ron DeSantis campaign mocks Donald Trump for ‘scrambling his jet’ to Iowa

The Ron DeSantis campaign is spotlighting a Bloomberg report as evidence that Donald Trump is scared he’s going to lose in Iowa.

“Donald Trump is very late to the game and is now scrambling his jet to Iowa because he knows just how disastrous it is going to be to lose to Ron DeSantis in January. But anyone who understands Iowa knows that a Caucus victory has to be earned — it can’t be bought. Ron DeSantis has long-planted his flag in Iowa and the Trump campaign is going to have do more than spend millions of dollars against him to capture it. It’s now game on,” claims DeSantis deputy campaign manager David Polyansky.

The DeSantis camp’s optimism is rooted in senior advisor Chris LaCivita reportedly “relocating temporarily to Iowa,” $2.4 million of Trump ad buys in the state, and a foray by the former President into the state Saturday (on the same day DeSantis himself returns to the state).

DeSantis has presented Iowa as his best shot against Donald Trump, telling reporters during a press conference Tuesday that opponents should “collapse” behind him so that anti-Trump votes weren’t split among candidates.

“Here’s what we know. We know that the only two candidates that have a chance to win the Iowa caucus are myself and Donald Trump. That’s it,” DeSantis said.

A survey of 400 Hawkeye State Republicans from the Citizen Awareness Project, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies on Sept. 28 and 29, shows that “Iowa caucus-goers, especially those who watched, say Ron DeSantis won this week’s GOP debate.”

DeSantis, per the polling memo, is viewed as the “strongest on border security” and “best able to defeat Donald Trump” by more than 40% of likely caucus goers.

A CBS News survey released last week showed DeSantis above 20% in the state, though 30 points behind Trump.

DeSantis’ campaign has depicted its Iowa effort as a “drive toward victory.” To that end, he is also moving a third of his staff to the state, in an effort spokesperson Carly Atchison calls “pedal to the metal.”