DeSantis marks Iowa milestone as caucuses near. Trump says his rival’s campaign is in deep trouble

By THOMAS BEAUMONT and MICHELLE L. PRICE
Associated Press

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Ron DeSantis has completed his campaign promise to visit each of Iowa’s 99 counties. He held an event Saturday to celebrate crossing a symbolic but also tactical threshold. Former President Donald Trump, who still remains far ahead of DeSantis, held his own rally at the same time about 100 miles away. The Florida governor’s moment, much like the months of campaigning so far, took place under Trump’s towering shadow. DeSantis and others remain far behind Trump just six weeks before Iowa goes to its first-in-the-nation caucuses on Jan. 15. DeSantis told his supporters that he considers himself “a servant, not a ruler.” Trump, meanwhile, compared DeSantis to a “very seriously wounded bird.”