Iowa Freedom Summit  ...Next >
Photo 1 of Donald Trump Addressing the Iowa Freedom Summit
January 24, 2015--Donald Trump delivered one of his inimitable stream of concioiusness fusilades at the Summit, declaring that, "Our country is really headed in the wrong direction with a president who is doing an absolutely terrible job."  Among other topics, Trump tackled Obamacare ("everything about Obamacare was a lie"), immigration ("we have to build a fence, and it's got to be a beauty"), and the missing IRS emails ("emails can't be lost").  He also stressed the importance of rebuilding our infrastructure.  Along the way Trump even managed a tangential screed against those "guard rails that are always bent, rusted and horrible."  Another interesting aside he scorned the use of teleprompters, stating, "I think any president candidate that runs should not be allowed to use a teleprompter."  The part of Trump's speech which probably drew the most attention came toward the close, when he spoke out strongly against possible campaigns by either Mitt Romney or Jeb Bush.  Trump closed his speech stating, "If I run for president and if I win," he would "totally succeed in" addressing just about every challenge facing the nation, from creating jobs to saving Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to rebuiding infrastructure.  Trump concluded, "I know what needs to be done to make America great again.  We can make this country great again.  The potential is enormous.  And I am serious thinking of running for president because I can do the job."  [transcript]
Photo 2 of Donald Trump Addressing the Iowa Freedom Summit
Photo 3 of Donald Trump Addressing the Iowa Freedom Summit
Photo 4 of Donald Trump Addressing the Iowa Freedom Summit
Photo 5 of Donald Trump Addressing the Iowa Freedom Summit
Photo 6 of Donald Trump Addressing the Iowa Freedom Summit
In addition to his speech, Trump was quite visible at Hoyt Sherman Place, doing several interviews out front before his speech and doing a press conference afterwards.  He was one of the only potential candidates to have quasi-campaign literature on hand.  Piles of two 4"x6" cards were spread out on several counters in the building.  One showed a young Trump shaking hands with President Reagan.  The other had a photo of the Trump family and the caption "The key to sucess is happiness through family" on one side and a photo of Trump's confirmation class from June 1959 on the other side. [more photos]

On the day before the Summit, Trump spoke at Land Investment Expo in West Des Moines and attended a dinner.
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