President Donald Trump returned to Iowa on Wednesday, rallying with thousands of supporters at an arena in Cedar Rapids.
“It’s always terrific to be able to leave that Washington swamp and spend time with the truly hardworking people,” he said. “We call them American patriots.”
The mood was celebratory, particularly after Republicans won congressional special elections in Georgia and South Carolina. Trump congratulated the Republican victors — Karen Handel in Georgia, and Ralph Norman in South Carolina.
“All we do is win, win, win,” he said, referring to the election results. “Even the worst of them say ‘That was a big win for Trump.”
The president suffers from low polling numbers, doubts in Washington D.C. about his ability to pass health care and tax reform in Congress, not to mention the ongoing media driven narrative surrounding the Russian investigation. But Trump urged his supporters not to pay attention to the noise.
“If we set aside the cynics and the critics, we have a chance, and it’s a great chance. It lies before us, to do extraordinary things for our country in the years ahead,” he said. “History is written by the dreamers, not the doubters.”
Trump also derided Democrats in Congress for doing everything they could to obstruct his agenda, and losing more elections in the process.
“They’ve been unbelievably nasty,” he said. “Really nasty.”
The president spent over an hour talking about the successes of his administration, as the energetic crowd applauded and cheered.
“The people are the rulers of this country once again,” he said, after highlighting a rising stock market, and positive economic enthusiasm.
Trump highlighted promises kept, including his decision to leave the Paris climate agreement, and build the Keystone XL pipeline and the Dakota Access pipeline.
“I was elected to serve the citizens of Iowa, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Florida, and all 50 states, and all 320 million Americans,” he said, as the crowd cheered wildly.
He also spoke about keeping his promises to the people of Iowa on ethanol.
“By the way, we are saving your ethanol industries in the state of Iowa,” he said.
The president also addressed promises that weren’t finished, including health care, tax reform, infrastructure, and trade negotiations. NAFTA, he reported, was in the process of renegotiation, and reserved the right to pull out of the agreement at any point.
Trump spoke about the Obamacare replacement currently in negotiations with the Senate.
“I think and I hope — I can’t guarantee anything — I hope we are going to surprise you with a really good plan,” he said. “I’ve been talking about a plan with heart.”
The president reaffirmed his promise to build a wall on the Southern border, floating the possibility of putting solar panels on it.
He also spoke about his trip overseas to Saudi Arabia, and his call for Middle Eastern nations to stop funding terrorism, calling it “one of the great two days of his life.”
“We cannot let these incredibly rich nations fund radical Islamic terror or terrorism of any kind,” he said.
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