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Republicans are ready to gather.

In Milwaukee next week to officially nominate Donald Trump for president.

Iowa's top Republican see victories ahead in the city's.

Just days from now, Donald Trump is expected to do something no one has done since 1892, when his party's nomination after winning eight years ago and losing four years ago.

Grover Cleveland was the other man to do that at his party's convention in Chicago.

And now Republicans will gather just 90 minutes away from there in Milwaukee, 64 Illinois Republican delegates are committed to Donald Trump.

20 of Iowa's 40 delegates are also committed in the first round.

Iowa Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann talked to us about the convention and Republican priorities in the 2024 races across Iowa and the nation.

So, Mr. Chairman, what can we expect in the Republican convention?

I mean, is it is it a unified front?

It is.

I up in Milwaukee, I'm getting all kinds of emails and interactions with folks.

I now have the second longest, tenure, at the RNC.

So I'm in a lot of lists that not every, chair, is part of only the only the Nevada chairs got one more year than I do.

So I'm on a lot of those committees, those executive conversations and such.

And I can tell you that, you know, this, this is nothing compared to 2016.

Jim, when that, you know, the Cruz people were plotting and planning and backstabbing and we had to deal with, I mean, literally every hour we had to do something, to try to stop the Cruz people.

They either gone away, moved away, or, become, you know, become a part of the Republican Party that, supports the nominee.

So I don't anticipate a lot of, tension.

there's going to be, you know, there's always going to be generated tension where somebody is fiefdom, might be attacked or but, you know, from the 30,000ft view and especially out here in Iowa and having seen and done this for a decade, if that's really child's play, to be honest with you, the big scheme of things, I think you're going to see a unified party.

I think you're going to hear about the same theme over and over, and over again.

So does this make does this make it more of a coronation rather than a convention?

I mean, is that what these conventions really become?

I, you know, I would even be I think I would lower the expectation just a little bit less than that and say, this is a commercial, but when you've got a nominee and there's no delegate fight whatsoever, this is a commercial where you've got quite a few people watching at very specific times, that you could potentially still sway.

But this is where yo I mean, this is if this is the this is the start of President Trump is doing something that's very different.

He appears to be waiting until next week to announce his presidential choice as vice presidential choice.

I mean.

Vice president, I'm sorry, vice presidential choice.

And as you know, that typically has already happened.

So, you know, he he has built up some real drama for next week that typically isn't there.

So that' a very smart move on his part.

And he's going to have all the cameras there.

Heck, CNN might even carry that.

might even carry that out.

Do you have any insight i regards to who could be a vice presidential candidate and how important would it be, perhaps for somebody from the Midwest?

I it would it would be wonderful to have somebody in the Midwest.

But, you know, the old days and I'm a, I'm a historian.

So the old days where you looked at the electoral map and chose accordingly, quite frankly, that's why we have in history so many, presidential, vice presidents from Indiana and New York, because they were key swing states in the old days.

I honestly think even from the Iowa perspective, is picking somebody that reflects Iowa values.

almost all the people on that list, Jim, almost every one of them have been in this state.

Many of them have campaigned in this state, and many of them have looked me in the eye on a stage with the cameras rolling, telling me they believe that, that Iowa needs to start off the nominating process.

So I, you know, do I have my favorites?

Yes.

But I can tell you exactly what my ask the Iowa chair what my favorite gentleman was based on.

It's do I know these individuals and whether they have already committed to Iowa being first in the nation?

So I really think and then getting along with Trump and I also think, you know, Donald Trump, our, our you know, hopefully our, our next president has a unique personality.

I mean, he it's a it's a street fighter personality, which I would argue we need.

There's some that believe that maybe the vice president could be a little bit of a, of a, you know, kind of yin and yang.

In other words, the vice president that is that is strong, that is no nonsense, that is conservative, but perhaps has a different communication style.

there's two schools of thought on that.

That might be something to watch as well.

You kind of forget that the Iowa caucuses were so early.

I mean, it seems like years ago.

and the delegation is interesting.

It is 20 Trump delegates, nine DeSantis and eight Haley, delegates.

I mean, it's really kin of a diverse delegation coming to, from Iowa, going to Milwaukee.

And you know what, Jim?

That that just reinforces, once again, what I say over and over and over again nationally about Iowa, the grassroots speak at our caucuses.

We are not top down.

And however that turned out, that's how we partitioned those, those particular delegates.

I think it's as I met everyone on our delegation.

Now I'm not they elected me the chair of the delegation, which basically means I have to beg for money to pay for the event.

So I had it's it's an honor.

But, you know, it comes with, it comes with a lot of strings attached.

But but the bottom line is, I don't see anybody, on that on our delegation.

that is not goin to be adamantly, at this point in time in favor of Donald Trump.

That is such a wonderful departure from what we had to put up with in 2016 with the Cruz delegates.

Tell me a little bit about the opponent.

As you well know, the debate, it's all about Biden.

He's been in the news circle, news cycle rather repeatedly.

questions of his age and ability.

I don't think that could put the Republicans in a better position right now.

I think you're right.

You know, as I was watching that, I was even taken back at how quickly things disintegrated.

And, you know, there's a small part of me if I if I take the politician out of me, take the Republican activist out of me.

You know, my my mom, in our latter days of her life, she suffered from dementia issues.

The thing that caught m the most, Jim and I, actually.

And that's I you just have to believe me.

I'm a I'm a part of some.

But when I saw him and how he stared off into space while Donald Trump talked, I'm going to tell you, Jim, that's the look.

I saw that look at my mom's face.

And it's it's it's, it's tears at your heart.

And I just wonder what in the world are his loved ones telling him?

Is there anything in that white House?

What?

You've served there for four years worth putting your husband, the leader of your family, don't care about the leader of the free world, the leader of your family in that situation.

It it it was hard to watch.

But as a history professor, I know that it is almost impossible, for an incumbent president not to get that nomination if he wants it.

It sounds like he's doing everything to do that.

What's what's what's interesting here, Jim, as you know, if this was going on with with Donald Trump, you know that every single elected official in Iowa and myself, we would be absolutely almost people would almost demand a statement from us.

And I think that would be fair game.

You realize that for ten days, the Iowa Democratic Party and the Democratic chair has been radio silent.

Rob Sam, the only elected Democratic leader in Iowa, has been radio sound.

You know what?

They need to weigh in on this, too.

Are they behind the president or not?

It's the number one story in the country.

And our Iowa Democrats are absolutely silent on the ma that ruined our Iowa caucuses.

That's that's troubling as well.

And but one of the things about the debate that hasn't been talked about a great deal, and I know you're going to correct me, perhaps, is that there was a lot of discussion about the things that Trump said that simply were not true, and the fact checker went after him left and right.

But that story pretty much got buried because of Biden's performance.

Is there a real concern about the fact that Donald Trump doesn't always tell truth?

Well, first of all, if it's if the fact checker will see an ad and see, CNBC, I don't consider that a fact checker.

In fact, I, I think I think even Pinocchio would, would, would question their integrity of fact checking.

Having said that, if the fact checkers are neutral and unbiased, fact checkers, we you know, we're looking at a political environment where you have interpretation, where you have perception sometimes what what they call a lie is is asserted is definitely just a change in the perception.

And look, from what I understand, those same fact checkers which some of them CNBC, CNN would be heavily biased towards the Democratic Party.

They even they were capturing they were given Pinocchios.

I guess that's the New York Times.

But they wer they were fact checking Biden.

They didn't have as many for him.

When you when you're the when you're a leader and you've got that much pressure, you're not always going to get everything goal solitary thing.

Absolutely correct.

I think what you did, I think what you look at is the policies that have been followed.

And is there anybody that was surprised that Donald Trump had a flamboyant way of expressing himself and a unique way of perceiving a particular situation?

I was an election denialism.

The whole a lie.

Well, I, I believe that we need to move on.

This is 2024, and I'm living in a state where I believe that our that that what happened in Iowa was an election with integrity.

In fact, I think we've even made it better.

I don't deny that there were problems in Pennsylvania.

and there still will be because the Democratic governor is going to veto everything.

I don't deny tha there were problems in Georgia that is going to get better, because there was a Republican trifecta.

I think the question always was, Jim, is the problems that were in all these various states, did they add up to actually changing a vote in one of the states?

I was one that said from the very beginning said it ultimately on, on, almost every, every media, personality that asked me and that was, this is Joe Biden after after he was inaugurated as Joe Biden, the president had state.

Yes.

He was.

I think we have a lot of work to do.

But yes, Joe Biden is the president now.

I don't want him to be.

But we have Donald Trump, who who repeatedly says he won that election.

I mean, I know that you don't want to go back in history, but he doesn't seem to want to leave history.

Well, I mean, his perception is that his perception that the election abnormalities in Pennsylvania and Arizona and Georgia did affect the ultimate electoral college turnout.

from, from from my perspective, I believe that I said that we needed to move on.

We needed to make sure that the Democrats did not have a trifecta.

And thank goodness they didn't.

And actually, thank God.

And during the time that they don't now, thank goodness during the time that they did, people like Joe Manchin and set them up to Democrats actually held the line.

But I you know, I really think that right now, what we need to focus on, what we need to focus on is 2024.

But, Jim, I'm not going to completely just just sweep aside, in my in my public comments, what happened in 2020?

We absolutely have to double down in watching Pennsylvania and Arizona and other states where there was something that went on.

It's just a debate as to what kind of an effect that had.

I'm lucky to live in Iowa.

I don't have to stay up at nights wondering if our elections are fair because our legislature, amidst a lot of criticism from our Democrats, our legislature, and our governor, has made Iowa a plac where I think we can all rest.

And I would say that, Jim the morning after a Republican lost the state I would say those exact words.

Mr. Chairman, you're par of a growing Republican Party.

over the last year, Republican registration in Iowa increased by some 33,500 as the Democrats lost 22,000. you have 748,000 registered Republicans to 650 registered Democrats, where it used to be almost even.

What does that tell you?

and we were behind at a time during my tenure.

I think what we had, Jim, is a perfect storm.

I would like to think that our message that our discipline, that our unified way, that our that our Republican Party and our elected officials all come together and realize that we do not have to agree 100% of the time.

As Reagan said, if you agree 80% of the time, it makes your political allies.

So that's part of it.

The other part of it I really can't take any credit for in terms of the Republican Party, it has been stunning to me.

stunningly, a positive, unfortunately for me.

And that is how much the Democra the Democratic Party doesn't seem to realize that all politics is local.

All politics is local.

I handle things here as the chair of the Republican Party of Iowa, different than the Republican Party chair of Arizona or of New Hampshire, our Democratic Party, all the way up to following Joe Biden's demands and ending their Iowa caucuses.

They have not listened.

And so they're trying to force California and New York values on Burlington, on Dubuque, on Fort Madison, on Council Bluffs.

And by the way, I'm listing all the river towns that used to be blue and are now red.

Jim.

Honest to goodness.

Part of this they gave away and they're doubling down on giving that away.

I still believe Iowa has strong populist, independent tendencies.

I mean, that's been in our history for a hundred years.

That's why I'm working as if we are.

Those those numbers are actually opposite because I know you get a couple of election cycles, this thing could turn around yet baffles me, absolutely baffles me that the Democratic Party i letting us run away with this.

But I believe that's a factor.

I also believe that Donald Trump, love him or not love him if you're a Democrat.

Donald Trump has brought u back to our blue collar roots.

If there is one thing that's going to be written in the history book, if you said, okay, one small paragraph to Donald Trump in the history book of 20, you know, of 20, 85, the one thing I hope they include in there that he has done in Iowa and other states, and that is he's brought u back to our blue collar roots.

That is crucial.

And it's how you explain in Iowa, Jim, why we have flipped all of these counties and why we're holding them.

There really is something to the whole idea of a blue collar billionaire.

I used to go out with that.

you're seeing the results of that right now.

So populism, Trump and the ridiculous notions of the Democratic Party that they do not have to listen to their local folks.

Let me ask you about young voters.

I was talking to some 20 somethings and early 30 somethings, and you're looking at the top of the ticket.

I know that you're going to say that you have young, politicians, you know, waiting in the wings.

and Iowa's got a slew of young Republicans, but for right now, there's a large number of young people who are looking at 78 year old Donald Trump and 81 year old, Joe Biden and saying, how did we get here?

I'm not going to participate in this election.

I, you know, and I teach that that age group, Jim.

So I and we talk a lot.

I by the way, I am vigilantly, digitally, uncompromisingly neutral in the classroom.

in fact, I think teachers are unprofessional when they're not.

And I should point out, when you when you talk about the classroom, I should point out you're a teacher at Muscatine Community College.

Correct.

And so I hear from a lot and my students, both Democrats and Republicans, feel very comfortable talking to me.

And, and and I do hear this.

Yes, I hear my students tell me, look, our choices, aside from policy at this point, aside from policy, you know, our choices are two older, two older men, I mean, and I tell them, when and I say, yeah, I can't deny that, of course.

And what I tell them is, you know, four years, that in four years we're going to really have a start here.

Hopefully Joe Biden is going to be done in 2024.

And then, Donald Trump is going to serve his four years and then the term limit up.

Then I tell them, be ready, be engaged.

Because if youth is wha you're after, and I would hope you would be after policies for the new second, because we've had some really, really bad younger presidents and we've had some really, really good older presidents.

So I don't know that that's necessarily there's a correlation to any of that.

But but oh, I mean, you know, Franklin Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower weren't exactly spring chickens.

And I think most people would say that they got the job done.

And I picked a president from each party.

But but let them, let them actually let them get engaged and, and, and I also think that might be something that we want to think about in the vice for the vice presidential race as well.

So what do I tell them specifically, Jim, that is right now in our system, and I believe it's the best system in the world.

Just ask somebody in China or North Korea who could actually even talk about it.

But this is what we are left with.

We have a two party system.

Maybe someday third party should be relevant.

Right now.

You vote for a third party, you're wasting your vote.

You are absolutely not in the arena.

Rightly or wrongly, that's the fact.

And so in this particular case, look at the policies.

If you think that you've is important, then in four years look at the policies and look at and factor in youth.

But right now these are the these are the choices.

And I tell the young people, if you don't like what the grassroot have given us in terms of age, then be a part of the grassroots, because I'll guarantee of the vas majority of those young people that are complaining right now.

A tiny, tiny handful actually participated in our caucuses.

Let me talk about the campaigns right now.

And this is typical of a presidential campaign, that you paint your opponent as somebody negative, of course, but it seems to be almost an Armageddon discussion.

the Biden people saying democracy is at risk and and the Trump people saying the country is going to go downhill even faster under another four years of Biden.

And we always expect this negativism.

Does that you believe have an impact on your independent voters, your young voters, your people who are just looking for an excuse not to vote.

I you know, I feel lik the last phrase you displayed.

Yes, we've always got folks that are looking for that excuse.

And to be honest with you, if it is an Armageddon scenario, if they're really looking for the excuse that they'll find something else.

But here's what I would say.

Jim.

we already know what fou years of Donald Trump will be.

Essentially, we've already sort and we had the same Armageddon scenarios there and none of that happened.

The Democrats Armageddon scenario sai he's going to declare himself, an authoritarian.

He can't do that.

I mean, our checks and balances in our Constitution will absolutely, positively not do that.

I tell my students there is zero chance that is fantasy world crap to think that any president whatsoever, but change the basic back and force of the checks and balances.

yeah.

And so, so I, I completely reject those with Biden.

No, I think you're looking at something a little bit more fundamental.

You saw the withdrawal in Afghanistan.

People see the inflationary pressures.

People see what's happening on the border.

People see the young women that are now dead.

Mr. chairman, one last question.

Milwaukee is coming up.

is it going to be the best opportunity for Republicans to, like you said, it's an ad to put your best foot forward?

yes and no, Jim, I think yes.

because you're talking to the entire nation.

Yes.

Because you're going to have some high profile people across the entire spectrum of Republicans, from moderate to the establishment to the libertarian to the, you know, to the Christian evangelical, to the populist.

So, yes, but I would argue that because we have an electoral college system, I still think the actual hand-to-hand political combat that we're going to see in those swing states is going to be more important.

but I'm going I've been given the honor to, get the speech seconding, the nomination of Donald Trump.

It's a it's a big honor.

I'm excited about it.

But I have to tell you, you know, it's like all politics.

And it's what I've been saying, Jim, it's the biggest mistak that Iowa Democrats have made.

It's also going to determine who wins this presidency in the hand-to-hand combat in the swing states.

And that is all politics is local.

I'm going to be talking to about 15,000 people and several million across the country.

But I got to tell you, and I'm not running for anything.

So you got to know that this comes March.

I'm talking to my folks back in Cedar and Muscatine towns, and if every politician has that mindset of where their heart is talking to, that's the politicians that are going to win.

Those are the political parties that are going to ultimately come on top.

I believe tha the Trump campaign is focused.

I mean, razor focus, they are so much better than they were in 2016.

It's not even a different process.

It's a different planet.

As to how they're approaching this.

I think they're ready, and I think they're ready in the heart as well as the process.

Our thanks to Iowa Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann, Beth Ann Height Gerken started her love of performing while attending high school in Dubuque.

It led her to study music at the University of Iowa.

She now lives in Davenport, raising a family, still pursuing her love of music, and she joined us as part of the Wqpt Cords and Coffee sessions to perform one of her originals.

So here's Bethan Hite Gherkin with answer.

Right?

I love her.

da da da da da da da da da da da da.

You've been singing the n b now I've been, you've been drinking.

Sometimes I think twice about, you know, can you enter right I don't believe.

Never take up the answer I.

You want to get your love.

And I can see it in your eyes.

Gonna wait again.

Maybe I'll not want to sky.

Eyes up to you I.

Love you, can't you?

I tried.

I don't you bullet, but you get.

To hear that answer.

I.

You can tell me anything.

You swear I don't mind I like to your thoughts connections.

You by now.

Are you waiting for me to make your first move in the world?

What do you want me to do?

With you?

Can't you answer?

I. I don't belong, but you get to have the a line I want you want me to be.

Can you is I. I don't want to be me.

But you gotta.

Have that answer, right?

You get to have that answer.

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You get to that answer right now.

You got to get it.

Sure.

I know you got that answer right.

Oh, you got that?

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I got to have that.

It's right to have that answer that you've got to have that you to know.

Beth and Hyde gherkin with answer.

Right on the air, on the radio, on the web, on your mobile device and streaming on your computer.

Thanks for taking some time to join us.

As we talk about the issues.

On the city's.

At IHMVCU.

We've always been here for you.

You are and always will be our top priority.

We care about your financial health, and we are here.

IHMVCU is a proud supporter of Wqpt.

The future.

That' where our minds are at Western Illinois University, Quad Cities.

We are innovators searching for something new outside of the textbooks dog loving, leadership driven, world changing.

Whether you choose to study on campus or online.

Your future is designed on your terms.

Start your future at WIU.EDU/QC.

Public Affairs programing on Wqpt is brought to yo by The Singh Group at Merrill, serving the Wealth management needs of clients in the region for over 35 years.