Donald Trump has returned to
Washington, DC, after an “amazing day” visiting the grieving communities of El Paso,
Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, on a mission to heal divisions in the aftermath of the two devastating mass shootings that left 31 people dead over the weekend.The president was met with boos from
protesters upset by his racist rhetoric and undermined his own efforts to bring consolation by angrily tweeting about the “LameStream Media” and his political rivals and enemies in the press from Air Force One, even threatening to release a “racism list” to attack Democrats.In Iowa,
Democratic 2020 challenger
Joe Biden accused him of “fanning the flames of white supremacy” - a sentiment later echoed by
Elizabeth Warren \- prompting Mr Trump to respond on Twitter: “Sooo Boring”.On Wednesday alone, three
White House hopefuls — Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand and Amy Klobuchar — offered sweeping proposals that touch on everything from farm subsidies to rural broadband and health care. The trio of senators are among the parade of candidates who will fan out across Iowa this weekend to participate in the famed state fair and other events.The focus on rural Iowa is a mainstay of presidential politics, sending candidates on a sometimes-awkward pilgrimage to the far corners of the state that holds the first-in-the-nation caucuses. But
Democrats say the chase for the heartland is especially urgent this year as the party tries to win back some voters who supported Mr Trump in 2016. A strong showing in Iowa, they say, could prove a candidate’s ability to make inroads in other rural communities across the country.The challenge for Democrats is to rebuild the multiracial coalition across urban and rural areas that twice sent
Barack Obama to the White House. His victory in the 2008 Iowa caucuses helped build momentum to claim the party’s presidential nomination. He later carried Iowa in the 2008 and 2012 general
elections while also winning states with urban centers, such as
Pennsylvania and Michigan.In 2016, Mr Trump ate into that path , carrying Iowa, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.Some Democratic candidates are working to reverse those gains by offering ambitious changes to rural voters. Ms Warren’s proposal on Wednesday would reshape the current farm subsidy system into a program that would break up big agribusinesses and guarantee farmers certain prices, which she said would raise farmers’ incomes and save taxpayer money.Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load