Trump heads to Iowa, but not for the Republican candidate gathering that will be there

(Patria) - Donald Trump plans to attend an upcoming event in the state of Iowa, but will skip events with other Republican presidential candidates, a former president's aide said, which is likely designed to draw attention away from his rivals, Reuters reports.

It has not been clear until now whether Trump, a candidate for the Republican nomination, will attend the annual fair in the state capital Des Moines, which runs from August 10 to 20. Last year it attracted a million participants, and it is an important venue for candidates as the state opens the nomination race in January.

Trump's move to attend the event seems designed to divert attention from other Republican candidates, especially his closest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is sinking in the polls and desperately trying to calibrate his campaign in early-voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

Most of his rivals have agreed to be interviewed individually at the event by Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds between August 11 and 18, but Trump declined the invitation. Trump was angered by her public neutrality in the primary race and her appearance with DeSantis at several of his events in that federal state.

In 2015, at the beginning of his campaign for the White House, and when most experts dismissed his campaign, Trump flew to Iowa by helicopter. The crowd greeted him with enthusiasm, as an early sign of the support that would lead him to victory over Hillary Clinton in November of the following year.

Trump is currently crushing his primary opposition. He is about 30 percentage points ahead of DeSantis, while others are still in the single digits. Trump has said in recent weeks that he sees no point in attending the first Republican debate on August 23, as he is far ahead of his competitors. His aide said Trump has not ruled out attending the debate, but it is "unlikely he will attend."