Former U.S. President Donald Trump cancelled two rallies in Iowa on January 13 due to bad weather, but flew into the state in the evening for a small gathering with precinct captains and other supporters, two days before his party’s presidential nominating race kicks off with Iowa’s Republican caucuses.Under friendly questioning from Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, Trump accused 2024 opponent Nikki Haley of being a “globalist” beholden to high donor interests and sought to portray the economy under President Joe Biden in catastrophic terms.”We are weak. We are ineffective. We are laughed at as a country and Bidenomics is a total disaster,” Trump said, even as inflation ebbs and with the stock market near record highs.Republicans vying to beat a dominant Trump in the 2024 contest fought for attention in snowy, frozen Iowa on Saturday ahead of the statewide caucuses to be held on January 15.Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are trying to prevent a rematch between Trump and Biden for the leadership of the world’s most powerful country.Trump holds a commanding lead over DeSantis and Haley, his former United Nations ambassador and a former governor of South Carolina. Both candidates hope for a strong second-place finish in Iowa that might position them to challenge Trump’s dominance in later primary races.Trump is the only current or ex-U.S. president to face criminal indictments.Battling the weather has been a key factor in weekend campaigning. The state could see temperatures plunge to a low of minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 29 degrees Celsius), testing the resolve of even the hardiest Midwesterners to go out to vote.