Donald Trump Means Business in Iowa: Night in Motel, and a Day in Church
And on Sunday, no doubt mindful that Mr. Cruz is counting on conservative Christians to carry him to victory in this state’s caucuses, Mr. Trump showed up for church here in eastern Iowa, with photographers trailing, sat quietly through the 60-minute service, left two crisp $50 bills in the collection plate and shook hands all around, before resuming his attack on Mr. Cruz at a news conference and rally nearby.
.. Classic rapid response, pragmatic logistics and overt shows of faith are all basic parts of the job of running for president. For Mr. Trump, they have been only sporadically employed. Yet with each day, evidence accumulates that the master of the New York tabloids now grasps what it will take for him to win in Iowa, and beyond — and that he is laser-focused on doing it.
.. Since he entered the race, a few benchmark moments have fueled Mr. Trump’s confidence, according to three people close to him who insisted on anonymity to avoid antagonizing him. Two of the moments came in August: getting through the first Republican debate, then drawing tens of thousands of people to a stadium in Mobile, Ala., where another New York politician would most likely not have received a comparable welcome. Signing a pledge to support the party’s nominee, whoever it was, amounted to a kind of psychological point of no return, the people close to him said.
.. Earlier that night, he was introduced warmly at a rally in Pella by Senator Charles E. Grassley, the popular Iowa Republican. (Mr. Grassley did not offer an endorsement, but Mr. Trump cannily pulled him back onstage for a photo that could suggest otherwise.)