‘Broker than I’ve been’: Why Donald Trump is set to win Iowa caucuses

It was not just freezing; it was “dangerously cold”, according to local officials, with temperatures reaching Antarctic lows after days of snowfall.

But the bitter weather did not stop hundreds of people from coming out to see former President Donald Trump in Indianola, Iowa, a small town south of the state capital, Des Moines.

A day ahead of the Iowa caucuses, they held Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats, Trump 2024 signs and shirts featuring the former president’s mugshot at the campaign rally. More than three years after his supporters stormed the US Capitol to prevent the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory and four criminal indictments later, Trump’s support amongst Republicans is steady.

George Hutton, a Trump supporter from neighbouring Madison County who attended the rally on Sunday, said the former president’s Republican opponents – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley – are “wasting their time”.

“I think Trump is going to win it by more than what they’re estimating,” Hutton said, referring to the Iowa contest.

On Sunday, rally-goers stood for 15 minutes in the cruel cold in a queue that stretched outside the community college where Trump spoke. Once inside, many did not even get to see the Republican frontrunner in person and had to settle for watching his speech on a screen in an overflow room after the main event space reached capacity.

As the presidential elections kick off on Monday evening with the Iowa caucuses, the question is not whether Trump will win but by what margin.