Hi, I'm one of the many band teachers outside this week teaching

barging band camp. This podcast was recorded at 107 PM Eastern on Monday, August 14.

Things may have changed by the time you hear this, but the doctor beat will

still be ticking, and these kids will still be awesome. All right, here's the show.

Hmm, ready for that back to school the time. Hey there, it's the MPR

Politics Podcast. I'm Susan Davis. I cover politics. I'm Don Gagnier, National

Political Correspondent and Clay Masters of Iowa Public Radio is here too. Hi, Clay.

Happy to be here. So we should note you two are both together right now at the

Iowa State Fair. The fair, of course, is one of the most enduring traditions in

politics. If you want to be president of the United States, but politics isn't

so traditional anymore. I think that's my understatement for the day. The

leading candidate for the Republican nomination is facing three and possibly

four indictments for a range of alleged crimes. Clay, how big of a shadow of

did Donald Trump cast at the fair this year? Well, first off, I should say that

people largely come to the Iowa State Fair to go see concerts, see the

livestock, get all kinds of fried food. And so the politics of it all is kind of

a side show. I mean, it's not like this is drawing thousands of people to just

want to come see what politicians are saying ahead of an election. And with

that aside, the election itself did cast a big shadow on the State Fair on

Saturday when the former president, Donald Trump, was here. Ron DeSantis, the

Florida governor, who's seen as his main rival, was also here. And people were

largely just observing the spectacle of the former president being here. And, you

...