Iowa Republicans excited, reflective as they arrive at Republican National Convention

MILWAUKEE — Iowa Republicans met to kick off their week at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Sunday night, greeting the traditionally festive occasion with a note of sober reflection following the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump.

Republican Party of Iowa co-chair Linda Upmeyer said she was “shocked” and “stunned” by the shooting, which left Trump with minor injuries but one rallygoer dead and two others injured.

“God had his hand on the president, and absolutely has his hand on this country too,” Upmeyer said. “So we should not be confused. We need to do our job. But we have divine providence on our side.”

Upmeyer and the dozens of other Iowans who made their way to Milwaukee for the convention gathered at Moxie’s Restaurant Sunday night to share a meal and prepare for the week ahead.

On hand were party chair Jeff Kaufmann, Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson.

Republican U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming also stopped by the event to mingle with Iowa Republicans. Hageman defeated former Republican U.S. representative and noted Trump critic Liz Cheney in a 2022 primary election.

Brenna Bird: Trump is ‘tough as heck’

Bird also said God played a hand in Saturday’s shooting.

“If anybody ever had any doubts about the hand of God guiding our country, those doubts surely ended last night, right?” she said, encouraging the crowd to continue praying for the nation’s leaders.

“But I gotta say this,” she added. “President Trump, he is tough as heck, isn't he?”

More: Failed Trump assassination attempt may embolden supporters who see him as chosen by God

Chuck Grassley also said he believes that the event has made Trump look stronger.

“I think we all knew from 2015 till now that Trump was a fighter,” he said. “But you saw it yesterday in those pictures that will probably end up to be in a lot of history books about holding his arm up and saying, ‘Fight, fight, fight.’”

Grassley, who has been a regular critic of the FBI and the Secret Service over the years, said he would wait to comment on any potential security lapses until more information is available.

He said he and Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will soon send a letter to committee chair Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asking him to hold a swift hearing looking into the assassination attempt. The committee has jurisdiction over the FBI.

Hinson was less circumspect.

“We had a members-only call for the Republican conference with our speaker,” she told the group. “And we had a very, very serious discussion about obviously the security implications around the convention, but also, most importantly, about accountability — accountability for what happened yesterday and the extreme failures by the Secret Service. So I can tell you, we are already planning for hearings.”

More: What went wrong? How did Secret Service allow shooter to get so close to Trump?

Iowans excited for Republican National Convention despite shooting

But the event was also laced with excitement and levity.

Both Kaufmann and Bird have speaking roles lined up during the convention , with Kaufmann set to deliver a speech formally nominating Trump for president on Monday and Bird discussing public safety and the importance of law enforcement on Tuesday.

“When we saw all the law enforcement and Secret Service that were rushing to help (after Trump had been shot at), you could see they were only worried about one thing — it wasn't themselves,” she said. “And that's exactly what our law enforcement do for us every day.”

Bird conceded that she’s “a little bit nervous.”

“But I promise to work hard and make you proud,” she told the crowd.

Kaufmann is scheduled to deliver remarks formally nominating Trump for president Monday.

“That's not about me. That's about Iowa,” he said, telling the group he believes the move reflects Trump’s appreciation of the first-in-the-nation caucus state and its place at the front of the nominating calendar.

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. She is also covering the 2024 presidential race for USA TODAY as a senior national campaign correspondent. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Republicans excited, reflective as they arrive at Republican National Convention