--- title: Donald Trump Promises To Win Swing States in General Election description: Donald Trump's appearance in Iowa Sunday was a family affair, as he made a pitch to voters that he would put more states in play. canonical: https://time.com/4201624/donald-trump-family-iowa-ivanka/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-31T20:37:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:37:02.528Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump Promises To Win Swing States in General Election og:description: Donald Trump's appearance in Iowa Sunday was a family affair, as he made a pitch to voters that he would put more states in play. og:url: https://time.com/4201624/donald-trump-family-iowa-ivanka/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6fe3d6a81c53670e/69887b3b0a4a22b54d9c8209/trump-donald1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4505 og:image:height: 2534 og:image:alt: Donald Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Promises To Win Swing States in General Election twitter:description: Donald Trump's appearance in Iowa Sunday was a family affair, as he made a pitch to voters that he would put more states in play. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6fe3d6a81c53670e/69887b3b0a4a22b54d9c8209/trump-donald1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Says He'd Win Swing States in General Election > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 31, 2016 8:37 PM UTC  Donald Trump poses during a campaign event on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, IO on Jan. 28, 2016. Donald Trump poses during a campaign event on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, IO on Jan. 28, 2016. Jae C. Hong—AP  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 31, 2016 8:37 PM UTC Donald Trump made a pitch to voters in Iowa a day before the state’s caucuses that he would put more states in play in the general election if nominated. Trump told the crowd he could win Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan, Ohio and Florida in the general election if he wins the Republican nomination. “I think we can win states that aren’t even thought of in the normal realm,” he said. He also said he could bring Republican victories in purple and blue states — including his home state, which last went red in 1984\. “I think we have a chance to win New York, they like me in New York,” he said, adding that it would be “impossible” for any other GOP candidate to win there. Trump’s appearance at a Council Bluffs middle school [with Jerry Falwell Jr](http://time.com/4201357/donald-trump-jerry-falwell/?xid=homepage). clocked in at just over 30 minutes, about half the time he usually speaks. But his wife Melania made a rare appearance onstage, along with his daughter Ivanka. “It’s great to be here,” Melania said, who has largely kept quiet to the media during her husband’s run. “He will be unbelievable. The best dealmaker, the best master negotiator.” Then eight-months pregnant [Ivanka](http://motto.time.com/4182722/ivanka-trump-negotiation-skills/) spoke, talking about supporting her father and imploring the audience to caucus for him tomorrow. “Politically, wouldn’t it be great if she had her baby in Iowa?” Trump joked. “Then we’d definitely win.” Falwell Jr., the evangelical leader and president of Liberty University who endorsed Trump, then asked Trump about potential running-mates. “Ivanka!” someone yelled out. In the [final Des Moines Register/_Bloomberg_ poll](http://time.com/4201333/iowa-poll-donald-trump-hillary-clinton/?xid=homepage) before the caucus, Trump leads the Republican pack with 28% support. Before the Council Bluffs event, volunteers were passing out voter registration cards to attendees to encourage them to register Republican and caucus for Trump. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4201624/donald-trump-family-iowa-ivanka/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4201624/donald-trump-family-iowa-ivanka/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Says He'd Win Swing States in General Election","datePublished":"2016-01-31T20:37:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:37:02.528Z","description":"He also said he could turn New York state red for the first time in 30 years","url":"https://time.com/4201624/donald-trump-family-iowa-ivanka/","keywords":["Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6fe3d6a81c53670e/69887b3b0a4a22b54d9c8209/trump-donald1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6fe3d6a81c53670e/69887b3b0a4a22b54d9c8209/trump-donald1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Donald Trump","caption":"Donald Trump","creditText":"Jae C. 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