At a rally with Vice President Pence in Des Moines on Thursday, the Iowa Corn Growers Association named President Trump and Pence as honorary members of the organization — becoming the first sitting president and vice president to receive the honor.

Pence accepted the award just five days out until Election Day, where he also rallied Iowans at the Des Moines International Airport to garner support for Trump’s reelection campaign. 

Republican and Democratic politicos — including the presidential candidates themselves — are making swings through Iowa to try and secure the state’s six electoral votes.

“After you leave here today, I want you to find a family member or neighbor that hasn’t decided what they’re doing,” Pence said. “I want you to tell them you were out in the airport and you ran into Mike, and he just said…for our families, for our future for a great American comeback, we need four more years of President Donald Trump in the White House.”

Chants of “four more years” and “promises made, promises kept” sounded throughout the airport as Pence took the stage.

The Iowa Corn Growers Association named Trump and Pence members in honor of the Trump administration’s strong defense of America’s farmers and ethanol industry, according to a letter from the association to Trump.

The association is celebrating Trump’s actions toward protecting Iowa farmers, including relief from the derecho and protection from Chinese tariffs, according to the letter and press release from the Trump campaign.

Trump approved a $28 billion national farm bailout package for farmers who were financially impacted by the trade dispute between the U.S. and China. In January 2019, the U.S. and China negotiated a Phase One trade agreement where China agreed to purchase more U.S. agricultural products, and according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “the agreement establishes a strong dispute resolution system that ensures prompt and effective implementation and enforcement.” 

Keynote speakers included Gov. Kim Reynolds, Republican candidate for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District David Young, Republican candidate for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District Ashley Hinson, and Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst.

Ernst, who is seeking reelection against Democratic candidate Theresa Greenfield, said Pence is a man of personal integrity, courage, and faith, and that he understands the needs of Iowa.

Pence, who endorsed Ernst for six more years in the U.S. Senate, said Ernst is a champion for Iowa’s farmers, families, and conservative values, and is an unwavering ally of Trump. 

Ahead of the rally, the Iowa Democrats held a press conference denouncing the Trump administration and Sen. Joni Ernst for their responses to COVID-19, according to a press release on Tuesday.

“Iowans are showing up in record numbers to reject another six years of Ernst’ attacks on our health care in Washington,” Smith said.

Pence, however, said at the rally he wanted to give credit to Reynolds for controlling the pandemic in Iowa.

“I’ve worked with governors in all 50 states and in our territories and I must tell you that Governor Reynolds’ innovation on testing early on, the distribution of PPE to doctors and nurses, even up to this very hour and moment,” he said. “I’ll tell you the President and I are grateful. The people of Iowa are blessed to have Gov. Kim Reynolds in the governor’s office in a time such as this.”

Wanda Spiker, a Waukee resident, said she trusts Trump because she feels he is honest with the American people about his promises.

“We have no doubt what is going on,” she said. “He’s not going to apologize for the American people to other countries.” 

Spiker’s husband is classified as a disabled veteran who served in Vietnam. She said she has seen first-hand the work that Trump has done for the veterans across the nation.

Angie Rosener, a music teacher from Mapletown, sang the National Anthem at Pence’s rally on Tuesday. Rosener said she sang at the rally held by Trump in Des Moines on Oct. 14, as well. 

Rosener said she believed Trump was the better candidate because of what his administration has accomplished within the last three years.

“He’s got a lot done for America,” she said. “As far as NAFTA, with the trading in China, with our military, with farmers. He’s really tackled a lot of things in four years, and I believe he is going to do even more in the next four.”

Charles Hibbs from White, South Dakota, also attended the Trump rally in Omaha, Nebraska on Wednesday. He said although he originally was not going to vote for Trump in 2016, as he planned on voting for Ted Cruz, he will be voting for Trump in 2020.

Hibbs said he supports Trump on the basis of “promises made, promises kept,” which was a point made many times on Thursday by Ernst, Pence, and Reynolds.

“He stands by the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution,” Hibbs said. “He makes a decision, he sticks to it. He won’t say one thing and do another. Promise made and promises brought forth. He lets the states make decisions and have control. We the people have a state representative for a reason.”

Pence said while Democratic candidate Vice President Joe Biden says that democracy is on the ballot, he believes law and order are on the ballot. 

“In this election, I think it’s not going to be so much whether America ends up more Republican or Democrat, more liberal or more conservative, more red or more blue,” Pence said. “The choice in this election is whether America remains American. It’s whether we’re going to chart a course for the future for our children and our grandchildren, build on our great heritage of faith, family, freedom and patriotism, or let Joe Biden and the radical left…shut down our economy or topple our heritage and freedom.”