Sen. Chuck Grassley (I-IA) is facing the closest election of his career, so he released a statement on Trump coming to Iowa that never mentioned Trump.

The statement is a political work of art in trying to avoid toxic Trump:

Grassley’s statement is supposedly about Trump’s upcoming visit to Iowa, but the statement doesn’t mention when the Iowa event is if Grassley will be appearing with Trump, what the Iowa event is about, and it never mentions Trump at all.

It is almost like Chuck Grassley doesn’t want voters in Iowa to know that Donald Trump is coming, and he definitely doesn’t want to have his name associated with Trump.

Grassley’s struggles with Iowa voters are nothing new. A 2021 poll found that 64% of Iowans wanted him gone.

In July of 2022, Grassley started polling under 50% for the first time since 1980.

Grassley is currently locked in a statistical tie with his Democratic challenger Mike Franken in what will be the closest election of the 89-year-old’s career.

Chuck Grassley is in real danger of losing his seat, and it speaks volumes about the degree of liability that Trump poses for Republican candidates two weeks before election day if an incumbent as entrenched as Sen. Grassley won’t mention the former president’s name in a statement.