President Donald Trump returns to Iowa Thursday evening.

But his stop in the state that for half a century has held the lead-off contest in the race for the Republican presidential nomination is about 2026 rather than 2028.

Trump will headline a Fourth of July eve event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines to kick off America250, a series of yearlong celebrations surrounding the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Longtime Iowa GOP chair Jeff Kaufmann told Fox News it’s no surprise that the president picked Iowa to kick off celebrations of America’s independence.

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“We’ve always had a special relationship with the president,” Kaufmann told Fox News Digital, as he noted that Trump carried the one-time general election battleground turned red state in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections. 

Kaurfmann said Trump’s stop in Iowa “is very symbolic, but it’s also very telling of what is important to him and I really believe he’s starting here because not only does he love Iowa, but he believes in the heartland. I think this is a huge message that he’s sending to everyone that he hasn’t forgotten who brought him to the dance.”

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Veteran Iowa-based Republican consultant Nicole Schlinger said “it’s no surprise” that the president has “chosen to kick off America 250 at the best state fairgrounds in the country.”

“From the day his helicopter first landed here in 2015, Trump has had a special connection with Iowa. He’s straight-talking, hardworking and unapologetically proud of our country – just like Iowans,” Schlinger added. “Starting America’s 250th in Iowa is a reminder that the road to our future runs through the heartland.”

Trump is no stranger to the fairgrounds.

Presidential candidate Trump walked through the crowds at the famed state fair in 2015 and 2023, and he held large rallies at the fairgrounds just ahead of the 2016 Iowa caucuses and again in October 2021.

Trump’s trip will also spark speculation about 2028.

“Trump 2028” hats are available for $50 and T-shirts that read “Trump 2028 (Re-write the Rules),” sell for $36 on the Trump Organization’s website. 

But the rules are quite clear: The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution restricts presidents to two terms in office. 

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And after months of flirting with running for a third term in the White House, Trump appears to be ruling out another campaign.

Despite touting strong support in the MAGA world for a 2028 run for re-election, the president in a May interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” said, “I’m not looking at that.”

“I’ll be an eight-year president,” Trump added. “I’ll be a two-term president. I always thought that was very important.” 

But Trump’s 2028 flirtations, which he said weren’t a joke, and his sweeping moves since the start of his second tour of duty in the White House are keeping the spotlight firmly on him, averting any lame-duck talk and putting a damper on any early moves by those in the Republican Party hoping to succeed the president.

The race for the next GOP presidential nomination won’t get underway until Trump’s ready to share the spotlight, and he recently said it’s “far too early” to begin holding those discussions.

But Trump also added, “I’m looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody, ideally a great Republican, a great Republican, to carry it forward.”

Vice President JD Vance is presumed to be the extremely early frontrunner in the race to be the next GOP standard-bearer.

But other Republican politicians, with a likely eye to 2028, already have made stops in Iowa.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2016 GOP nomination, and Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, already have visited Iowa in 2025. 

And Govs. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas stopped in the Hawkeye State in July. 

Kaufmann, pointing to Vance, noted, “I’ve said on multiple occasions that the vice president certainly has a standing invitation.”

And Kaufmann, addressing the early 2028 trips to Iowa, highlighted that “it’s 24-7 here, 365 days a year. It’s exactly how we want it and I think our folks are ready for the challenge yet again.”