Governor Ron DeSantis is being targeted by protesters as he campaigns in Iowa. A security guard tackled one protester as he was hopping up on the stage when DeSantis was speaking.

DeSantis finds himself under attack by climate protesters who call him a ‘climate criminal.’ Three protesters interrupted a 90-minute event Thursday who are believed to be with the Sunrise Movement, the same group that interrupted the DeSantis town hall with Fox this week. One protester held a banner that read “DeSantis: Climate Criminal” before he was tackled by security and removed.

Three protesters acted separately, interrupting at different points during the event so it is not clear if they were working together. DeSantis was determined to show he will not be swayed by event interruptions. He described the protesters as “numbnuts” to reporters after the event. Seems to me that that description was tamer than they deserved. The Sunrise Movement, if they were a part of that group, uses young people to protest climate issues. It is a part of the propaganda efforts that young people are spoon-fed by progressive extremists. They infiltrated Fox’s town hall with DeSantis and one audience member who was chosen to ask a question of DeSantis was later exposed by the Sunrise Movement on social media as one of their members.

The other candidates are not under fire by this group. I don’t know why they are targeting DeSantis over, say, Haley. One protester yelled about corporate donors but it is Haley who is getting the big corporate bucks right now. Maybe it was because the super PAC supporting DeSantis, Never Back Down, put the event together. It was held at a a BBQ restaurant and packed with hundreds of people.

DeSantis is determined to not allow the protesters to shut down his campaign events.

“This is what is wrong with the college system right now,” DeSantis said as security escorted one of the protesters out of the crowded venue. He mocked the protester for taking his banner out and having “telegraphed” what he was about to do.
When one protester interrupted him — accusing him of taking money from rich executives — the Florida governor shouted back and told him to stop.

“Excuse me, I’m doing this,” DeSantis said. “I know you have an agenda.”

He told reporters after the event that, “I’m not going to let these numb-nuts rush the stage or do anything like that, but I mean people that ask, you know, normal, respectful questions, we’re happy to do.”

DeSantis acknowledged that he is targeted and that’s a good endorsement.

“You see that all the time,” DeSantis said Thursday. “You see who they’re spending money against. You see what they’re doing with the media. Who the media doesn’t want to be the candidate, that’s the best endorsement that any Republican can ever have.”

It’s crunch time in Iowa as the caucuses are scheduled for Monday. The weather forecast is terrible, with a blizzard moving in. Iowans are used to bad winter weather but it will be interesting to see who comes out to caucus. Will Trump supporters take for granted that he will win and stay home instead of getting out in tough winter conditions? Will the storied DeSantis ground game win the night? What about Nikki Haley’s momentum?

In one poll, Haley has pulled ahead of DeSantis in Iowa. It’s a small poll of likely caucus participants.

According to a Suffolk University survey of 500 Iowa voters likely to participate in Monday’s GOP presidential caucuses, Trump stands at 54% support, with Haley at 20% and DeSantis at 13%.

The poll was conducted from Jan. 6-10, when Haley and DeSantis faced off in a primetime debate in Iowa, while Trump simultaneously took part in a Fox News town hall.

As with all polling, take it with a big grain of salt.

A well-known conservative and media personality based in Iowa indicates that the big lead shown in polls for Trump are not necessarily true and even Team Trump has lower expectations for caucus night.

Spoke to a couple of different major corporate media outlets tonight in separate moments. And without knowing what the other told me, they both said the same thing:

“Despite what they say in public, privately the Trump campaign is selling us their internal goal is Dole’s record…

— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) January 12, 2024

I don’t know if that is true or not but I do think that DeSantis will finish stronger than his opponents think. He has the support of Iowa heavy-hitters, including the very popular governor and people like Deace. DeSantis is fighting to the end, or as long as the money holds out. He is scheduled to be on the majority of the Sunday morning political shows. He can make a last-minute pitch to a national audience. We’ll know Monday how it shakes out.