President Donald Trump has made another gaffe. He appeared confused when asked about Adam Steen, who is one of the Republican candidates for Iowa governor. The GOP primary for Governor of Iowa will be held on June 2 this year.
In 2025, Steen, who served as the former director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services, announced his campaign for governor. In addition, Eddie Andrews, Randy Feenstra, Brad Sherman, and Zach Lahn are running for the primary.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump went to Iowa during a tense time, when there had been some backlash over rising living costs, inflation, an aggressive immigration crackdown, and uncertainty about the overall economy.
The POTUS won Iowa in the last three presidential elections, so the GOP has a stronghold in the state. He is scheduled to deliver remarks on energy and the economy while on his Iowa tour. This will be his first visit to the state as the midterm elections approach. Before his trip, when asked about Steen, he appeared visibly confused.
Scene outside Horizon Event Center in Clive, Iowa, where President Donald Trump will deliver a speech on energy and the economy. A couple hundred already gathered in freezing weather to protest his administration’s immigration policies and enforcement. pic.twitter.com/9Spy4mli4K
— Tom Barton (@tjbarton83) January 27, 2026
In August, while kickstarting his campaign, he said, “Let me tell you, from my own lips, who I am: I am the faith guy.” Steen added, “I’m a Jesus guy. I’m a Make America Great Again guy. I’m a common-sense policy, American first, people first guy.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s Iowa tour is set amid a tense situation in Minnesota. The backlash over Renee Nicole Good’s death has not yet died down. However, another ICE killing has added fuel to the fire. Alex Pretti was shot by a federal agent. MAGA officials have claimed that he was committing an “act of domestic terrorism” as he was armed with a gun, which he had a license to carry.
Excited to see President @realDonaldTrump today – welcome back to Iowa Mr. President! pic.twitter.com/pEd3WZw0yl
— Adam Steen (@adamsteen) January 27, 2026
Amid the chaos, Chris Madel, a lawyer for Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who shot Renee Nicole Good, had been running. However, on Monday, he dropped out of the gubernatorial race, disappointing many of his fellow Republicans. The lawyer also criticized Trump’s immigration crackdown, saying it is an “unmitigated disaster.”
He clarified that while he is on board with the administration deporting “the worst of the worst” from Minnesota, he deems that the current operation has crossed a certain limit. “I cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state. Nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so,” he said. “United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship. That’s wrong,” he added.
