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With the first Republican presidential debate two days away, Donald Trump is leading his nearest competitor in the national polls by as much as 12 points. In Iowa, the Real Clear Politics poll average puts him in second behind Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, but in the most recent poll of the race, Trump took a commanding 30.9 percent of the vote in a 16-candidate field. As GQ’s Drew Magary notes, Trump’s comments about Mexicans, China, and many of his opponents have fueled his rise in the state.
So what kind of crack campaign operation does Trump have in the first-in-the-nation caucus state? Who is the dark-arts practitioner responsible for helping a New York City billionaire win the hearts and minds of America’s heartland?
Actually, the linchpin of Trump’s Iowa strategy isn’t a politico at all—she’s a former reality TV star who not so long ago starred in infomercials for Bedazzler. Meet Tana Goertz, Iowa co-chair of Trump for President:
On her website, Goertz also hawks a children’s book based on her own “inspirational tale” called I’m Bigger Than This; a gray t-shirt, with “ENTREPRENEUR 24/7 365” inscribed on it; an audio CD of business advice she recorded called “Fake it til you make it!”; and information about an Apprentice-like program she runs for kids called “Kids Apprentice Program.” The program is “designed to serve children who are self-motivated future leaders” by offering them boardroom experience and forcing them to do “Apprentice-like tasks.” For $50, you too could raise the next Donald Trump.
Goertz, who bills herself as the candidate’s “hype girl” who “fires up the crowd and educates Iowans on how great he is,” was hired by Trump in July. But their relationship wasn’t always so strong. After Trump fired her from The Apprentice in 2005, Goertz condemned the show’s process. “It was all bullshit,” she told a local news station.
Evidently they made amends. Goertz’s site boasts multiple testimonials from Trump (“Tana is truly a star!”), and you can even watch her audition tape, in which she tries to sell Mary Kay cosmetics products to middle-aged men:
Now if only she’d bedazzle this hat:
Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ hat sold out at Trump Tower in NYC: http://t.co/iUFnsD2axN pic.twitter.com/QCP79Ys8Iw
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) July 28, 2015
