Ryan Binkley says at Iowa State Fair his campaign is growing and Trump isn't the answer

Ryan Binkley had a level of anonymity Saturday at the Iowa State Fair that other Republican presidential candidates like Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis lacked, but Binkley said he expected a breakthrough for his campaign soon.

The Texas businessman and pastor told the Des Moines Register he knows "I'm not a nationally known brand yet," but he hoped his message and priorities on promoting national unity, reducing the national debt, lowering health care costs, building pathways to a legal status for undocumented immigrants already in the U.S., tightening security at the U.S.-Mexican border and encouraging community service — combined with spending time with as many voters as possible — would continue to build the momentum he said his campaign has been getting.

He said he's gotten about 25,000 donors — 15,000 short of meeting the minimum requirement for the upcoming first Republican debate this month — but Binkley said his campaign has been averaging 2,800 to 3,000 new donors each day, which would put him on track to make the Aug. 23 GOP debate.

Binkley and his campaign staff said Tuesday — after his Fair-Side Chat with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds — that he had reached about 30,000 donors, as well as having them come from 17 or 18 different states out of a required 20.

Some people walking past Saturday recognized Binkley as he; his wife, Ellie; and campaign staffers wandered the grounds after his Des Moines Register Soapbox speech: stopping at the Turning Point Action Farmers & Ranchers Coalition booth and eating at the Bacon Box on the Grand Concourse; then visiting the Swine Barn in search of baby pigs.

More: Des Moines Register Political Soapbox to bring 13 presidential hopefuls to the Iowa State Fair

Along the way, Binkley got compliments from a family wearing DeSantis campaign hats and shirts and went to meet a veteran who wanted to specifically speak with him.

Victor Rottinghaus — founder of the 5PointOp program that coaches veterans and helps provide financial support through the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa for veterans to achieve home ownership — said he saw a television interview with Binkley, and "his financial background is something in which this country needs to focus, and so his message needs to get out there."

Ryan Binkley wants to separate himself and the Republican party from Donald Trump but also build off his legacy — and likely pardon him

Trump's plane circled the fairgrounds before landing in Des Moines as Binkley gave his Soapbox speech.

Binkley later told the Register that Trump can't deliver for the party.

"His message is off," and "he's dividing us further," Binkley said of Trump.

Binkley also said DeSantis is "trying to out-Trump Trump," neither Trump nor DeSantis can effectively pass legislation and "putting the military on the border is not a real plan."

But Binkley also told reporters he would likely endorse Trump if Trump were to get the party's nomination, and he would likely also pardon Trump if he were to be nominated and elected instead.

"I'd be surprised if they go to trial," Binkley said of the multiple indictments against Trump, which include allegations of hush-money payments, mishandling of classified documents and attempts to overthrow the result of the 2020 presidential election.

Binkley credited Trump with being a new voice in politics who passed tax legislation and appointed justices to the U.S. Supreme Court.

On Tuesday — after Trump had been indicted again, this time on state charges out of Georgia related to alleged attempts to try to steal President Joe Biden’s 2020 win there — Binkley said he hadn't yet read the specifics of the indictment and didn't have much new to say about Trump.

"I'm hoping it just gets over soon. So, at the end of the day, you know, this has been a distraction for this journey," Binkley said.

His presidential campaign is his own first foray into politics as a candidate.

Binkley is the president, CEO and co-founder of Generational Equity Group, a mergers and acquisitions and business advisory group headquartered in Texas. He previously worked at Procter & Gamble and Boston Scientific Corp. before starting Generational in 2006.

He's also the co-founder and lead pastor of the Create Church, in Richardson, Texas.

Phillip Sitter covers suburban growth and development for the Des Moines Register. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. He is on Twitter @pslifeisabeauty.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Ryan Binkley says his presidential campaign is ready to break through