The annual big fundraiser for Iowa Republicans, the Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines, was held Friday night. The program featured presidential primary candidates who were each allowed to speak for 10 minutes. It was a rare occasion when Donald Trump showed up to share billing with his challengers.

Trump prefers to be a solo speaker. His opinion is that he is so comfortably ahead in polling at this point that he shouldn’t have to allow other candidates to go after him at an event. It’s his arrogance and ego that gets in the way. He expects to cruise to the nomination at the Republican convention next summer. In the meantime, he accuses his challengers of disloyalty for running against him. He acts irritated that he has to run as every other candidate does. So, it is noteworthy that Trump showed up and participated in Des Moines Friday.

The Iowa caucuses are scheduled for January 15, 2024. Iowa kicks off the primary calendar and the state always receives special attention from presidential hopefuls. It’s expected, the same as it is in New Hampshire. In both states, Trump is the frontrunner but support is beginning to wane by some voters because of his growing legal problems. DeSantis is the number two man in the polls but is rebooting his campaign because it has not taken off as hoped by those who are looking for an alternative to Trump. So, in Iowa last night, Lincoln Dinner attendees were taking a look at the other candidates.

There were plenty of candidates to check out. There were 13 altogether, including Trump and DeSantis. One candidate who is benefitting from these multi-candidate events is Tim Scott. He’s gaining ground. “Tim Scott is ready for a moment,” said David Oman, a dinner attendee who is a past Iowa GOP chairman and has led previous presidential campaigns in the state. “He’s made a very good impression.”

In his dinner remarks, Scott highlighted social issues and themes of patriotism. “As president of the United States, I will make sure that the truth of my life continues to disprove the lies of the radical left,” he said.

The majority of the candidates appeared after dinner in breakout rooms where they competed to offer the best afterparty event. Some provided pizza and beer, while others served popcorn, cookies and other snacks. Trump offered his guests ice cream after they stood in a long line to shake his hand and pose for photos.

In the suite sponsored by the super PAC backing DeSantis, baseballs were available to throw at Bud Light cans, a nod to the fight he and other conservatives have picked with Anheuser-Busch InBev following a company marketing campaign that featured a transgender social-media personality. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum offered cattle-roping lessons.

It sounds like a fun evening for politically active Republicans in Des Moines, right?

Things got a little spicy when Will Hurd was almost booed off the stage. He boldly criticized Trump and the party’s losing record under his leadership. “Donald Trump is running to stay out of prison,” Hurd said. “The truth is hard. But if we elect Donald Trump, we are willingly giving Joe Biden four more years in the White House.” That is a common argument for non-Trump supporters – Trump will lose in a re-match with Biden.

The only candidate who got the hook was Asa Hutchinson. When the allotted 10-minute speaking time was over, music began to play and the microphone was cut. Hutchinson had time to highlight Trump’s legal woes, which he did.

Governor Reynolds isn’t endorsing anyone until after the Iowa caucus. Trump is irritated that she hasn’t endorsed him.

Trump went after DeSantis, as expected. He was the last of the candidates to speak. Most of the attendees stood and applauded as he took the stage. He rattled off his accomplishments in office, noting that he only had 10 minutes to do so. He slammed DeSantis “within the first 150 seconds of his speech.” He told the crowd not to take a chance on him. “I wouldn’t take a chance on that one.”

This tells me that DeSantis lives rent-free in Trump’s head and is still a solid second in preference with voters. It’s odd, though, because Trump’s lead is still a big one over DeSantis by all polls. Why alienate voters with divisive campaigning when it isn’t necessary? Because it’s Trump, that’s why. It’s his brand. He thinks anything less than alpha male mode is a weakness.

It should be noted that DeSantis didn’t take the opportunity to ding Trump. He did point out that Trump won’t win in 2024 if he is the GOP candidate.

“We’re not getting a mulligan on 2024,” DeSantis said. “We either win this election and make good on all the promises that we’re making, or the Democrats are going to throw this country into a hole that’s going to take us a generation to come out of.”

I’m a little concerned that DeSantis won’t be able to find the sweet spot. He needs to find a way to slam Trump without alienating his supporters. If he can win the nomination, he will need them, too, in November 2024. Trump alienates DeSantis supporters with his very nasty Truth Social posts and videos against DeSantis. If Trump is the nominee, he won’t be able to count on their votes.

The dinner attendees sounded a lot like primary voters in other states. Some still support Trump for the nomination while others are tired of Trump and looking at other candidates. Those voters are mostly looking at DeSantis, Tim Scott, and Vivek Ramaswamy.

Of the candidates who will be on the stage for the first GOP debate in August, Chris Christie was the only one to not show up at the Lincoln Dinner. He chose to stay and campaign in New Hampshire, his focus. He’s in the race to slow Trump, that’s his only goal. He knows he won’t get the nomination but he has a grudge against Trump running again.