Donald Trump shrugs off heckler in Sioux City, says 'we're going to win the Iowa Caucuses'

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Former president and current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump confidently told an enthusiastic crowd here that an Iowa Caucuses victory is in the bag despite Caucus Day still nearly 80 days away.

“We're going to win the Iowa Caucuses, but the big time is in November,” he told a packed crowd wearing hats and flannel jackets at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City. “We really have to go to town.”

Trump said little more about the caucuses, instead speaking about his standing on the Israel-Hamas war and his pending legal battles. Even a heckler couldn't slow his roll.

Those in attendance were stopped at six different tables spread across the historic theatre’s lobby and staircase where volunteers asked if they had signed up to caucus and if they would like to be caucus captains. Attendees also had the chance to snag a green beer koozie with yellow corn decorations saying “back-to-back Iowa champ.”

Gaffe doesn’t stop Donald Trump from whipping up caucus support

Before Trump jumped into the meat of his remarks, he made a small gaffe.

“We’ve done well here in Sioux Falls,” he said, nodding to Iowa’s neighbor to the northwest in South Dakota. Trump continued thanking Iowa elected officials for their endorsements as certain audience members shouted for him to remember he was in Sioux City.

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Sen. Brad Zaun, R-District 22, was brought on stage by Trump and spoke about his excitement at being the first person in the country to endorse the former president. When he finished, he quickly pulled Trump in and said something into his ear.

Trump turned to the crowd.

“OK, Sioux City,” he said before plowing on with the rest of his speech, including encouraging the number of attendees not from Iowa to call their friends who lived in the state and tell them to caucus on Jan. 15.

Ron Anderson, a registered Republican from Sioux City has caucused four times and voted twice for Trump.

“I'm that one vote, but that one vote makes a difference,” the 70-year-old said about why he thinks caucusing is important.

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As the Israeli Defense Force continued its push into Gaza Sunday three weeks after the Hamas-led attack on the country, Trump doubled down on his contention that the conflict would’ve never happened if he had remained in power.

“Israel is under attack and now we have terrorist sympathizers chanting their Jihad slogans on our streets all over us,” Trump said. “We will defend our country. We will defend our Judeo-Christian values, and we will defend western civilization.”

Heckler can't stop Trump's roll

Trump wasn’t deterred and chose to engage with a man who during the event loudly interrupted the former president while he spoke about the outcome of the 2020 election.

“How are you going to stop them from cheating when you are president?” the man, who was filming on his phone, yelled at the former president. “You couldn’t stop it when you were president, how are you going to?

Trump told the man that his teams across the country were already watching to stop supposed election stealing. Trump has insisted that the 2020 election was stolen, despite countless audits and court cases saying there was no evidence of fraud that could have come close to changing the outcome that resulted in President Biden's win.

“If we don’t stop the cheating, you’re not going to have a country,” Trump said to shouts from the crowd that drowned out the rest of what the heckler was saying before he was escorted out by security.

Legal woes not stopping Trump support

The former president walked a fine line to comply with a gag order put in place by a Washington, D.C., judge that bars him from targeting witnesses, prosecutors or the judge’s own court staff relating to Trump’s charges that he attempted to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election.

“I have one judge in Washington, D.C., who put my trial date the day before Super Tuesday, and it’s a trial based on nothing,” he said. “It’s a form of cheating.”

Many voters in attendance weren’t concerned about Trump’s legal woes. Most believed the former president’s pending trials across the country for a variety of issues were in fact “a witch hunt,” even though multiple defendants have entered guilty pleas in his conspiracy case in Georgia on election tampering.

“Trump has, I think not just the American people, but I think he has God on his side,” Lori Scroggin, a registered Republican from Hartley, said. “I think God's going to finish what he started.”

The 62-year-old bookkeeper will still vote for Trump even if a jury finds Trump guilty of one of the 91 criminal counts he currently faces.

Lydia Rouillard from Sioux City was buzzing with excitement ahead of Trump’s speech. While she’s a registered Democrat, she’s planning on voting for Trump. She thinks his policies will help create a safer world for her kids. And she’s not worried if he’s found guilty of charges.

“People make mistakes, and things happen,” the 38-year-old retail associate said. “If he does the crime, he’s gonna have to do the time. But I’m going to support him.”

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Trump in Sioux City fires up crowd with Iowa caucus win prediction