Republican candidates for president are trying to present themselves as Donald Trump alternatives without acknowledging the GOP front-runner and the new federal criminal charges against him. Seven GOP hopefuls took their turn on stage in front of about 800 party activists in the leadoff caucus state on Sunday. The candidates were all invited to speak at Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson’s fundraising barbecue at a Cedar Rapids racetrack. But in their pitches to challenge Trump for the 2024 nomination, it was as if his indictment days ago on federal charges accusing him of working to overturn the 2020 election results had never happened.
