Trump Trashes GOP Leader Vander Plaats, FOX Anchor Kelly

DES MOINES, IA — Bombastic Republican front-runner Donald Trump, who recently lost the coveted endorsement of an Iowa GOP evangelical leader and kingmaker able to turn out voters statewide, landed the backing of a controversial Arizona sheriff as a consolation prize.

On Tuesday, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a nationally known immigration hard-liner, officially endorsed Trump for president, the Arizona Republic reports.

Arpaio was expected to attend a Trump event in Marshalltown, IA, a community with a growing Hispanic population in the past decade and a target for anti-immigration sentiment.

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The lawman has appeared at Trump rallies in Arizona. The candidate has drawn both praise and scorn for his campaign pledges to build a border wall that he will force Mexico to pay for and to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

“Donald Trump is a leader,” Arpaio said in a written statement. “He produces results and is ready to get tough in order to protect American jobs and families. I have fought on the front lines to prevent illegal immigration. I know Donald Trump will stand with me and countless Americans to secure our border.”

The most recent poll of Iowans – who will gather next Monday, Feb. 1 in caucuses to choose their party’s nominees – gives Trump a 2 percent lead over Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. A Quinnipiac poll shows the margin at 31 percent for Trump, 29 percent for Cruz, and 13 percent support for Sen. Marco Rubio. The slim lead for Trump is within the poll’s margin of error, says RealClearPolitics.com.

Trump Slams Evangelical Leader

Trump may have decided he had nothing to lose this close to the caucuses and went to war via Twitter with conservative organizer Bob Vander Plaats. The president and CEO of the Family Leader last month threw his support Cruz, who has climbed in Iowa polls.

On Tuesday, Trump attacked Vander Plaats as a cheapskate, a curious move considering the power the evangelical leader wields in Iowa.

Trump tweeted, “Why doesn’t phony @bobvanderplaats tell his followers all the times he asked for him and his family to stay at my hotels-didn’t like paying.”

Trump also tweeted, “@bobvanderplaats begged me to do an event while asking organizers for $100,000 for himself -- a bad guy!”

“Trump you know that’s not true. I gave you an introduction and opportunity and you charged the guy $100K. May work in NY not IA,” Vander Plaats tweeted.

Des Moines Register political writer Jennifer Jacobs said records back up Vander Plaats; Trump was paid $100,000 for an appearance in the Hawkeye state.

In each of the last two GOP presidential campaigns, Vander Plaats has backed the Iowa caucus winner: former Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2008 and former Sen. Rick Santorum in 2012.

The Texas senator has recently picked up two other key GOP influencers’ endorsements in Iowa. Conservative firebrand Rep. Steve King and conservative WHO talk radio host Steve Deace both announced their support for Cruz, and have statewide influence to turn out social conservatives at the caucuses.

Ditching Debate?

And Trump, who had buried the hatchet with FOX News anchor Megyn Kelly after he complained about her tough questioning in an earlier GOP debate, said Tuesday that he will likely skip the next FOX debate

At a press conference in Marshalltown, the real estate mogul said he will not take part in Thursday’s primetime debate because Kelly will be the moderator.

“I probably won’t bother doing the debate,” Trump said according to The Guardian. “Most likely, I’m not going to do the debate.”

Resorting to name-calling, Trump gave “lightweight” Kelly’s role as the reason he plans to avoid the last GOP debate before the caucuses.