Trump Christian School Event Canceled After Fight Over Student Questions

A Christian university canceled a forum with former President Donald Trump over a disagreement about the format of the event.

Dordt University in Sioux City, Iowa, was set to host a “Commit to Caucus Rally” for Trump in January, just weeks before Iowa voters head to the caucuses to cast the first votes in the 2024 Republican presidential primary election. Iowa plays a crucial role in presidential nominating contests, as a strong performance in the midwestern state can bolster campaigns ahead of other early-voting states, such as New Hampshire and South Carolina.

However, the university opted to cancel the event after the Trump campaign disagreed about what the format for the event should be, according to a statement released Thursday.

The university opens events up to all presidential candidates, regardless of their political affiliation, to allow students to engage in a questions-and-answer style forum with candidates during the primaries. However, the Trump campaign desired a format similar to a traditional presidential rally, according to the statement released by the university.

“These events are intended to be educational in nature, including questions directly from Dordt students to the candidates. The Trump campaign started the process of lining up a campaign stop but desired a rally format,” the statement reads.

Instead, the event will be held at the Terrace View Event Center in Sioux Center on January 5, 2024, the statement said. The venue will be able to hold up to 814 people, reported Des Moines-based news station WHO-DT.

“Ultimately, the vision of the Trump campaign and Dordt were incongruent, and the event will not take place at the university,” the university wrote.

A spokesperson for Dordt University referred to the statement when reached by Newsweek for further comment. Newsweek also reached out to the Trump campaign via email.

Ahead of the Iowa caucuses, slated for January 15, Trump holds a commanding lead over his Republican rivals both in the state and in the national primary race, according to recent polls.

According to a recent Insider Advantage poll, Trump leads his closest competitors by more than 30 percentage points less than three weeks out from the caucuses.

The poll, which surveyed 850 likely Republican voters from December 18 to 19, found that 49.4 percent of likely caucus-goers plan to support Trump.

Meanwhile, 17.2 percent of respondents said they plan to back former United Nations Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and 16.9 percent of respondents said they would back Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, according to the poll.

Other candidates polled in the single digits. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy received support from 5.1 percent of respondents. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie earned the backing of 3.8 percent of likely caucus-goers, while former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchison received 0.5 percent support.

Another 7.1 percent of voters said they remain undecided.

The poll also found that 63.6 percent of voters said their minds were already made up about who they will support.