Donald Trump competes with Haley, DeSantis debate. What to expect from his Iowa town hall

WASHINGTON - Former President Donald Trump is again countering a debate among his Republican rivals - this time by headlining a Fox News town hall in Iowa.

Less than a week before the Iowa caucuses, Trump's main goal is to try and marginalize the two GOP debaters on CNN, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Haley and DeSantis, meanwhile, have accused Trump of cowardice for skipping the Iowa debate, and hope that Hawkeye State voters hold it against him.

"As the debate stage continues to shrink, it’s getting harder for Donald Trump to hide," Haley said last week.

Trump - who also skipped Republican debates last year - is likely to want to do several things with his latest bit of counterprogramming.

Among his goals:

More attacks on Haley

Trump and aides have made clear they believe Haley has displaced DeSantis as their top rival, especially in New Hampshire. Polls show Haley moving up in the state that hosts a primary on Jan. 23.

In his Iowa town hall, expect Trump to again deride Haley as a "globalist" who is backed by anti-Trump members of what used to be the Republican "establishment."

“Haley recently said Iowa voters will need to be corrected by other states," Trump said during a recent rally in Mason City. "Look, I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem nice, right?"

Trump will also probably continue to attack DeSantis.

Attack prosecutors (and Biden)

Trump is also likely to look for ways to turn his various criminal indictments and civil lawsuits into political weapons, claiming - without evidence - that Biden and other Democrats are trying to use the legal system to thwart his campaign.

Biden has described Trump as an imminent threat to democracy, citing the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021.

Prosecutors have indicted Trump on different cases in four jurisdictions. Cases in Washington, D.C., and Georgia involve efforts by Trump and allies to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.

Trump's Fox News town hall comes a day after an appeals court hearing on whether he is immune from criminal prosecution for actions taken as president − a long-shot legal argument.

Warn against complacency by Trump voters

Trump will also probably use the town hall to urge his supporters to actually vote in the caucuses on Monday.

While Trump has a big lead in pre-caucus polls, he and his allies have warned supporters against complacency at a series of "commit to caucus" rallies across Iowa.

"Pretend we're one point down," Trump said at the Mason City rally, a message he will probably try to amplify at the town hall.

Clean-up duty

While Trump's responses depend on the questions, he may be asked about some of his more recent contentious statements.

In recent days, Trump has said he hopes a financial crash occurs in the next twelve months, apparently believing that economically damaged voters will turn away from Biden.

Over the weekend, Trump said that the Civil War of could have been avoided by negotiations; civil rights groups said there never should have never been a compromise over slavery.

It's also quite possible that Trump will make new contentious statements on any number of subjects.