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Former Vice President Mike Pence thanks the crowd for being leaders in fighting against transgender-affirming policies in schools during a rally at Pizza Ranch in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Four prominent Republicans are planning trips to Iowa, the leadoff caucus state for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

Former Vice President Mike Pence and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson will be in Iowa this week, and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor, are planning trips in April.

Mike Pence will travel to Urbandale, Cedar Rapids and Coralville on Wednesday.

In Urbandale, Pence will give remarks at a breakfast hosted by the Westside Conservative Club. He will take part in a fireside chat during a Linn Eagles luncheon in Cedar Rapids with a book signing.

In Coralville, Pence will deliver remarks at the Johnson County Republicans Reagan Dinner.

He was last in the area for a rally last month in Cedar Rapids in support of parents who sued the Linn-Mar Community School District over its transgender-affirming policies.

He returns to Iowa less than two weeks after participating in a foreign policy summit with Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst and fielding questions about Trumps apparent pending arrest and calls for protest.

The former vice president criticized the politically charged prosecution of the former president, and warned against violent protest similar to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump called on his supporters to help stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election results that he lost.

That day, Trump claimed without merit that as vice president, Pence had the authority to stop the certification and send the process of confirming the election results back to the states. Some of the Jan. 6 protesters could be seen and heard on video chanting, Hang Mike Pence.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley talks with Nancy Bundemer of Mount Carroll, Ill., during a town hall at Legacy Manufacturing in Marion, Iowa, on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. Bundemer drove two hours to hear Haley speak. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Nikki Haley, who has declared her intent to seek the GOP presidential nomination, will swing through northwest Iowa next month with Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra of Hull.

Her planned visits include:

This will be Haleys third trip to Iowa since she launched her campaign more than a month ago.

Haley was the keynote speaker at Feenstra's second annual family picnic fundraiser last summer in Sioux Center.

Sen. Tim Scott speaks during an event at Elmcrest Country Club in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Thursday, June 9, 2022. The event featured a panel discussion with Republican Senators Joni Ernst of Iowa and Tim Scott of South Carolina hosted by Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Fellow South Carolina Republican Tim Scott is also headed back to Iowa in the lead-up to a likely presidential announcement, according to Politico.

Scott plans to travel to Iowa April 12 and New Hampshire on April 13. Details of the trip were still being finalized, a person familiar with Scotts plans told The Gazette.

The planned trips to the early nominating states come ahead of a planned Faith in America donor summit set for April 14 and 15 in Charleston that includes a policy discussion and political update on that Saturday.

Politico reported last week that Scott is expected to reach clarity on a decision to run for president sooner rather than later.

The political news company also reported that Scott plans to make a play for the evangelical Christian vote in Iowa. He met with a group of influential pastors in Des Moines last month and toured a Catholic school in Des Moines alongside Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and met with parents as part of his Faith In America listening tour.

Scott also spoke to Drake University students and was the keynote speaker at the annual Lincoln Dinner hosted by the Polk County Republicans in West Des Moines.

Asa Hutchinson, the GOP former governor of Arkansas who is considering a 2024 presidential run and has urged the Republican Party to move on from Donald Trump, returned to Iowa on Monday and will be traveling the state the next couple of days.

Hutchinson, who also served in the U.S. House and as the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration during the George W. Bush administration, was scheduled to speak to the Iowa Bull Moose Club in Des Moines on Monday night.

He is scheduled to speak to the Iowa Capitol Republican Women in Adel, the Drake University College Republicans and the Central Iowa Young Republicans in Des Moines on Tuesday, and to the Polk County Republican Party Luncheon in West Des Moines on Wednesday.

Excerpt from:
Mike Pence, Tim Scott and Nikki Haley returning to Iowa - The Gazette

Former Vice President Mike Pence gives a lecture at Christ Chapel on the campus of Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Mich., on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

URBANDALE, Iowa Former Vice President Mike Pence is coming back to Iowa after a trip to the state earlier this month to speak at a forum on foreign policy.

Pence was in Des Moines on March 18, participating in an event put on by the Bastion Institute. Hell return to central Iowa on Wednesday, where hell give remarks at a breakfast in Urbandale for the Westside Conservative Club.

Later in the day, hell travel to eastern Iowa. Hell attend the Linn Eagles Luncheon and Fireside Chat in Cedar Rapids at 11:00 a.m. and the Johnson County Republicans Reagan Dinner at 6:30 p.m. in Coralville.

During his trip to Des Moines earlier this month, Pence commented on a possible run for president in 2024.

Well, we are giving very careful consideration to enter the race for President of the United States. My wife and I expect to have a decision on if we are spending more time in Iowa when springtime comes, Pence said.

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Former VP Mike Pence returning to Iowa this week - WHO TV 13 Des Moines News & Weather

Trump said a few weeks ago: I am your retribution. Guess what everybody? No thanks, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said. | John Locher/AP Photo

MANCHESTER, N.H. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wondered if the Republican field has what it takes to stop former President Donald Trump.

Christie challenged Republicans to find someone who can do to Trump what I did to Marco Rubio a callback to his 2016 debate-stage evisceration of the Republican senator from Florida because thats the only thing thats going to defeat Trump.

You have to be fearless, because he will come back and right at you, Christie said. And that means you need to think about whos got the skill to do that, and whos got the guts to do that, because its not going to end nicely.

Christies former supporters in New Hampshire hope itll be him.

We definitely need somebody strong and optimistic, said Hillary Seeger, a conservative activist who backed Christies 2016 presidential bid. We need to have somebody that can win the primary and the general election.

Christie reunited a group of his New Hampshire backers on Monday night, when he returned to the state for a town hall at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics a prerequisite for any presidential hopeful followed by a private dinner with close friends, former supporters and some donors.

Christie was cagey about whether he is actually running for president again. But if he is hes said a decision could come in 45 to 60 days he spelled out a clear lane for himself as Trumps critic in chief.

Christie doesnt see one in what is shaping up to be the 2024 Republican field.

Theyre going to wriggle right up next to him and say Im almost like him, but Im not quite as bad, Christie said of his would-be rivals. Let me tell you something, everybody. Thats going to lose as certain as he lost in 20, as we lost the House in 18, as we lost the Senate in 21, as we underperformed in 22.

Christie later told reporters that no one has to wonder whether hes got the chutzpah to take on Trump.

But just as Christie puffed up his own abilities, one audience member at Saint Anselm College openly questioned his credentials in that arena. Christie had plenty of opportunities to take down Trump in 2016, before he dropped out after a dismal sixth-place finish in New Hampshires primary, so why didnt he do it then?

Christie chalked his performance in that primary up to strategic error one that he doesnt plan on making again.

Trump said a few weeks ago: I am your retribution. Guess what everybody? No thanks, Christie said. The only person he cares about is him. And if we havent learned that since Election Day 2020 until today, were not paying attention.

Christie also took direct shots at former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hitting the former for not doing more to stand up to Trump and the latter over his mangled forays into foreign policy.

Russias invasion of Ukraine is not a territorial dispute, as DeSantis said in now-walked-back remarks, but an act of authoritarian aggression, Christie said. And the U.S. doesnt have to worry about being dragged into a proxy war with China over Ukraine as DeSantis suggested because were in one.

But even as he jabbed his would-be rivals, Christie also spoke repeatedly of injecting optimism and civility back into politics that these days is defined by anger and retribution.

And his old supporters who gathered in Manchester on Monday consider that to be a selling point for potential presidential candidates like Christie and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, another moderate-leaning Republican considering a run.

You have Trump, and you have the alternative to Trump, former New Hampshire GOP Chair Wayne MacDonald, who chaired Christies 2016 campaign in New Hampshire. Once you start comparing his record in New Jersey with DeSantis record in Florida, youre going to see a much more viable and effective leader than Governor DeSantis is. And I think thats going to enable him to emerge as the alternative to President Trump.

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Christie sees a lane in the GOP primary: Trump destroyer - POLITICO

(ABC 6 News) Former Vice President Mike Pence is making a return to Iowa this week after a trip to the state earlier this month.

Pence is scheduled to make three stops in the state on Wednesday.

Pence will make his first stop in Urbandale, a suburb of Des Moines, where he will give remarks at a breakfast hosted by the Westside Conservative Club.

Pence will then travel to eastern Iowa where he is expected to stop in Cedar Rapids to take part in a fireside chat during a luncheon with a book signing.

Pence will then wrap up his visit in Coralville where he will deliver remarks at the Johnson County Republicans Reagan Dinner.

Pence was in Des Moines on March 18 where he participated in an event hosted by The Bastion Institute. Pence spoke on foreign policy along side a panel of U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.

RELATED: Former Vice President Pence to speak in Iowa Saturday

Meanwhile, Pence was in Iowa last month where he spoke against a Cedar Rapids schools transgender policy.

Many expect Pence to announce a 2024 presidential run at some point. However, he has not formally made that announcement yet.

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Former VP Pence returning to Iowa Wednesday - ABC 6 News ... - ABC 6 News KAAL TV

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Donald Trumps former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was slammed by her fellow conservatives for her support of Mike Pence.

She came under heavy fire after she tweeted about one of Mr Pences recent interviews with Sean Hannity. She wrote: Excellent interview with vice president @Mike_Pence on @seanhannity. His patriotism, love for the country, and love for his Savior [sic] on full display.

Soon, she was criticised and called a traitor by Trump supporters.

Used car salesman, the pro-Trump Twitter account Catturd2 responded.

Former Trump 2020 campaign staffer Kingsley Cortes wrote: This is what endless Murdoch News does to a person.

Other MAGA supporters called her disgusting and said, she is only known thanks to President Trump, but she spends her time on Fox & Twitter shilling for traitors like Pence & DeSantis.

Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump has vehemently denied that he had an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels as he faces a potential indictment for paying money to keep their affair quiet.

The former president decried New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg for investigating the payment and criticised the US Department of Justice.

The district attorney of New York under the auspices and direction of the Department of Injustice in Washington, DC, was investigating me for something that is not a crime, not a misdemeanour, not an affair, he said.

Mr Trump held his first major campaign rally in Waco, Texas, where he proceeded to insult Ms Daniels with an epithet he has used in the past.

The former president also described the 2024 presidential race as the final battle in a speech focused on personal grievances and legal woes at his first rally of the campaign in Waco, Texas, on Saturday.

If we dont win this election in 2024, I truly believe our country is doomed, he said.

This is really prosecutorial misconduct, thats what its called. The innocence of people makes no difference whatsoever to these radical left maniacs, Mr Trump said of the investigations into him.

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Ex-Trump press secretary Kayleigh McEnany ridiculed by fellow conservatives for Mike Pence support - The Independent