ron sdanlts desantis and nikki h battling it out for second place. >> waterloo, thank you very much >> reporter: with the iowa caucuses less than two weeks away, donald trump towering over the gop field, inflicting the power of his die hard base >> the poll numbers are scary, because we're leading by so much the key you have to get out and vote >> reporter: the former president boasting a 30-point lead over his closest rivals in the hawkeye state, gaining strength despite growing legal challenges, 91 criminal counts against him and pushes in multiple states to take him off the ballot >> we're not going to allow them to rig the presidential election of 2024. we're not going to allow it. >> what's the next thing they take away once they've done that it's just a steppingstone onto the next thing >> reporter: trump saying he would act as a dictator on the first day of the second term and using inflammatory words to describe grabtss. >> they're poisoning the blood of our country >> reporter: the caucus now appears to be a race for second place. a recent emerson college poll finding ron des