At competing events today in Iowa, Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, who will likely be his opponent in 2024, planned to compete for voters.

Mr DeSantis spent the day rubbing hands at a congressman’s annual picnic and a Cedar Rapids fundraiser for the Iowa Republican Party before announcing his candidature for president.

Tonight’s outdoor rally in Des Moines that Mr. Trump had initially planned to hold had to be cancelled due to a tornado warning.

Despite postponing his rally, the former president is nonetheless in the spotlight for other reasons.

In response to his disastrous town hall meeting on CNN on Wednesday night, Mr. Trump defended the network, saying it gave him a platform in the mainstream media and that this was “the right thing” to do.

After being judged responsible for sexual abuse and slander earlier this week, the former president has also started his appeal against the judgement in the E Jean Carroll case.