Later today the chairman of the Iowa GOP is scheduled to give the speech to formally nominate Donald Trump for a second term as president.
Iowa Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann spoke with Radio Iowa a few hours after the shooting at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania. Kaufmann said today’s speech was written last week and he isn’t changing it. “I think it’s more important that my message does not change,” Kaufmann said. “I think I need to say what I was always going to say.”
Kaufmann plans to emphasize the role the Iowa Caucuses play in choosing a nominee. “I’m going to talk about Iowa being first in the nation and starting a process,” Kaufmann said. “I’m going to talk about why we need a change. I’m going to talk about why President Trump is the answer to what this country needs.”
Kaufmann and Iowa politicians from both political parties issued statements after Saturday’s assassination attempt and said political violence is never the answer. Kaufmann learned of the shooting as he was leaving a gathering of Henry County Republicans in Mount Pleasant Saturday and his initial reaction was disbelief.
“People ought to be able to go to a Trump rally, they ought to be able to go to a Biden speech, they ought to go any place, anywhere, any time and not even think if their life is going to be in danger,” Kaufmann said.
Listen to Radio Iowa’s interview with Kaufmann on Saturday and read this weekend’s statements from Iowa’s political community here.