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| Donald Trump's sons hunt pheasants ahead of Iowa caucus: 'They're hardcore' | Donald Trump's sons hunt pheasants ahead of Iowa caucus: 'They're hardcore' |
| (7 months later) | |
| Donald Trump Jr, son of the Republican frontrunner, pulled five freshly shot pheasants from the back of his hunter’s jacket, placed them delicately in the Iowa grass, and posed with a toothy grin. | Donald Trump Jr, son of the Republican frontrunner, pulled five freshly shot pheasants from the back of his hunter’s jacket, placed them delicately in the Iowa grass, and posed with a toothy grin. |
| Trump Jr and his brother, Eric, had been dispatched to rural Iowa to help dispel the notion that their family is more interested in acquiring luxury golf courses than deer antlers. | Trump Jr and his brother, Eric, had been dispatched to rural Iowa to help dispel the notion that their family is more interested in acquiring luxury golf courses than deer antlers. |
| In contrast to their father, who never had much interest in hunting, the younger Trumps’ enthusiasm for the activity has been well known since 2012, when photographs surfaced of them posing with dead animals after a big game hunt in Zimbabwe. | In contrast to their father, who never had much interest in hunting, the younger Trumps’ enthusiasm for the activity has been well known since 2012, when photographs surfaced of them posing with dead animals after a big game hunt in Zimbabwe. |
| The billionaire’s sons were snapped posing with an elephant, a leopard, a waterbuck and a crocodile hanging from a tree by a noose. There are, of course, no crocodiles in Iowa, but Trump Jr insisted that “90%” of his hunting was of the traditional American variety. | The billionaire’s sons were snapped posing with an elephant, a leopard, a waterbuck and a crocodile hanging from a tree by a noose. There are, of course, no crocodiles in Iowa, but Trump Jr insisted that “90%” of his hunting was of the traditional American variety. |
| “From my weekend house I have deer hunting in my backyard – I’m setting up deer stands all summer,” he said, shortly after shooting a third bird from the sky. | “From my weekend house I have deer hunting in my backyard – I’m setting up deer stands all summer,” he said, shortly after shooting a third bird from the sky. |
| He disputed the idea there was a disconnect between plutocratic trophy safari hunts in Africa and folksy pheasant hunts on Iowa farms – and said his big game hunts played an important role in conservation. | He disputed the idea there was a disconnect between plutocratic trophy safari hunts in Africa and folksy pheasant hunts on Iowa farms – and said his big game hunts played an important role in conservation. |
| These guys speak the language, they know the gear, they’re hardcore avid hunter conservationists and fisherman | These guys speak the language, they know the gear, they’re hardcore avid hunter conservationists and fisherman |
| “I think a lot of hunters would aspire to do those things. I’ve been fortunate to be able to travel the world and do it,” he said. | “I think a lot of hunters would aspire to do those things. I’ve been fortunate to be able to travel the world and do it,” he said. |
| The “bigger trips” can be expensive, he said, but there are expeditions that are good value for money. | The “bigger trips” can be expensive, he said, but there are expeditions that are good value for money. |
| “There are some Africa trips where you could do a lot, experience a lot, for the price of a decent elk hunt in Colorado.” | “There are some Africa trips where you could do a lot, experience a lot, for the price of a decent elk hunt in Colorado.” |
| The Guardian was invited to watch Trump Jr and his brother shoot the breeze on a farm near Osceola on Friday, following a chance encounter at Des Moines airport. | The Guardian was invited to watch Trump Jr and his brother shoot the breeze on a farm near Osceola on Friday, following a chance encounter at Des Moines airport. |
| Don Peay, a prominent hunter-conservationist from Utah, was offloading luggage from the carousel with Jason Hairston, an NFL player turned extreme hunter. | Don Peay, a prominent hunter-conservationist from Utah, was offloading luggage from the carousel with Jason Hairston, an NFL player turned extreme hunter. |
| The pair said they were in Iowa on behalf of a newly founded group, Sportsmen for Trump, that intended to tour the state, bringing attention to the hunting bona fides of Trump’s offspring. They offered to introduce a reporter to the Trump sons, to gain an inside glimpse at their lives. | The pair said they were in Iowa on behalf of a newly founded group, Sportsmen for Trump, that intended to tour the state, bringing attention to the hunting bona fides of Trump’s offspring. They offered to introduce a reporter to the Trump sons, to gain an inside glimpse at their lives. |
| “With Donald Trump Jr and Eric, it’s authentic,” Peay said. “These guys speak the language, they know the gear, they’re hardcore avid hunter conservationists and fishermen.” | “With Donald Trump Jr and Eric, it’s authentic,” Peay said. “These guys speak the language, they know the gear, they’re hardcore avid hunter conservationists and fishermen.” |
| For weeks Trump’s nearest rival, Ted Cruz, has been talking disparagingly about the frontrunner’s “New York values”, with all the connotations that carries of city-dwelling liberals out of touch with rural Iowa. | For weeks Trump’s nearest rival, Ted Cruz, has been talking disparagingly about the frontrunner’s “New York values”, with all the connotations that carries of city-dwelling liberals out of touch with rural Iowa. |
| The winners of the last two Republican presidential contests in Iowa – Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee – emphasised their own hunting bona fides in the days leading up to the caucuses. | The winners of the last two Republican presidential contests in Iowa – Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee – emphasised their own hunting bona fides in the days leading up to the caucuses. |
| But hunting and politics can make for dangerous mix. Vice-President Dick Cheney shot a man during a quail hunt in south Texas in 2006, though many other wounds have been self-inflicted – and rhetorical. | But hunting and politics can make for dangerous mix. Vice-President Dick Cheney shot a man during a quail hunt in south Texas in 2006, though many other wounds have been self-inflicted – and rhetorical. |
| In 2012, Mitt Romney was widely ridiculed for claiming he mostly hunted “small varmints, if you will”. In 2004, John Kerry was lampooned for swaggering into an Ohio grocery store and asking awkwardly: “Can I get me a hunting license here?” | In 2012, Mitt Romney was widely ridiculed for claiming he mostly hunted “small varmints, if you will”. In 2004, John Kerry was lampooned for swaggering into an Ohio grocery store and asking awkwardly: “Can I get me a hunting license here?” |
| Wielding a gun on a pheasant farm is one gamble that Donald Trump Sr has been unwilling to risk. Instead, he has delegated such duties to his two sons. Their tour of Iowa is being coordinated by Peay, who is filming behind-the-scenes hunting moments with the brothers and uploading them to YouTube. | Wielding a gun on a pheasant farm is one gamble that Donald Trump Sr has been unwilling to risk. Instead, he has delegated such duties to his two sons. Their tour of Iowa is being coordinated by Peay, who is filming behind-the-scenes hunting moments with the brothers and uploading them to YouTube. |
| It is all intended to say to Iowa’s estimated 220,000 hunters that while the Republican frontrunner may be a Manhattan real estate mogul, his sons sure know how to gut a fish. | It is all intended to say to Iowa’s estimated 220,000 hunters that while the Republican frontrunner may be a Manhattan real estate mogul, his sons sure know how to gut a fish. |
| Driving through frozen cornfields to the hunting lodge, Peay pulled out his iPad to show photographs of hunting expeditions with Cheney and Romney. There was also an image of a beaming Donald Trump Jr, in a distant corner of the Alaskan wilderness, with the antlers of a mountain caribou strapped to his back. | Driving through frozen cornfields to the hunting lodge, Peay pulled out his iPad to show photographs of hunting expeditions with Cheney and Romney. There was also an image of a beaming Donald Trump Jr, in a distant corner of the Alaskan wilderness, with the antlers of a mountain caribou strapped to his back. |
| “When you go on these hunting trips – say you go to Alaska on a dall sheep hunt – you live out of a little two-man tent,” Peay said. He nodded toward a derelict building in a field. “If you saw a barn like that, that would be the Taj Mahal.” | “When you go on these hunting trips – say you go to Alaska on a dall sheep hunt – you live out of a little two-man tent,” Peay said. He nodded toward a derelict building in a field. “If you saw a barn like that, that would be the Taj Mahal.” |
| The Trump family does, in fact, have its own Taj Mahal – a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, that is just one part of a sprawling property empire that has given the two brothers and their sister, Ivanka, access to a fortune unimaginable to most Iowans. | The Trump family does, in fact, have its own Taj Mahal – a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, that is just one part of a sprawling property empire that has given the two brothers and their sister, Ivanka, access to a fortune unimaginable to most Iowans. |
| Not that that appears to matter to voters in the state. It is, perhaps, one of the most intriguing facts of this election that a billionaire property magnate touring the country in a private jet with gold-plated seats has come to be known as a champion of the working poor. | Not that that appears to matter to voters in the state. It is, perhaps, one of the most intriguing facts of this election that a billionaire property magnate touring the country in a private jet with gold-plated seats has come to be known as a champion of the working poor. |
| The Trump brothers are careful to avoid the impression that they are snobbish or otherwise dismissive of ordinary folk. They refer to their grandfather on their mother’s side, who introduced them to hunting, as a “blue-collar guy” from communist Czechoslovakia, and their father as “a blue-collar guy with a big balance sheet”. | The Trump brothers are careful to avoid the impression that they are snobbish or otherwise dismissive of ordinary folk. They refer to their grandfather on their mother’s side, who introduced them to hunting, as a “blue-collar guy” from communist Czechoslovakia, and their father as “a blue-collar guy with a big balance sheet”. |
| Trump Jr mentioned three times that he was sleeping on the couch of a friend, Doug Hurley, who is an Iowa state police officer. | Trump Jr mentioned three times that he was sleeping on the couch of a friend, Doug Hurley, who is an Iowa state police officer. |
| When a reporter complained his hands were cold, Trump Jr leaned forward and offered his gloves. He later offered to remove the breast meat from the same reporter’s pheasant, before adding: “I don’t know if I’ll do it on video, or you’ll turn me into some sort of mass butcher.” | When a reporter complained his hands were cold, Trump Jr leaned forward and offered his gloves. He later offered to remove the breast meat from the same reporter’s pheasant, before adding: “I don’t know if I’ll do it on video, or you’ll turn me into some sort of mass butcher.” |
| Friends of the Trump brothers insist that unlike in Romney and Kerry’s case, there is nothing inauthentic about the brothers’ love of hunting. Yet as with all campaign politics, there was also an element of choreography. | Friends of the Trump brothers insist that unlike in Romney and Kerry’s case, there is nothing inauthentic about the brothers’ love of hunting. Yet as with all campaign politics, there was also an element of choreography. |
| It turned out the New York Times and Washington Post had also been invited to the supposedly private hunt – along with CNN, whose anchor, Jake Tapper, did the brothers’ job for them by introducing them with their own talking points. | It turned out the New York Times and Washington Post had also been invited to the supposedly private hunt – along with CNN, whose anchor, Jake Tapper, did the brothers’ job for them by introducing them with their own talking points. |
| “You’re showing Iowans that even though you’re well-to-do New Yorkers, this is part of your culture,” he said. | “You’re showing Iowans that even though you’re well-to-do New Yorkers, this is part of your culture,” he said. |