8 GOP candidates attend Iowa ‘Roast and Ride’ event, Trump missing.

Eight Republican presidential hopefuls attended the “Roast and Ride” event in Iowa to pitch themselves to prospective voters as the busy summer campaign season kicks off, with GOP frontrunner former President Donald Trump notably absent.

The combination barbecue-rally and motorcycle ride, hosted by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), saw declared and presumed Republican presidential candidates in attendance at the eighth annual event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds near Des Moines.

Official or presumed candidates speaking at the event were:

• Former Vice President Mike Pence
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
• Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley
• Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.)
• Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson
• Michigan businessman Perry Johnson
• Author Vivek Ramaswamy
• Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder

Pence, who has not officially thrown his hat in the ring for 2024 but is widely rumored to make an announcement soon, was the only one who took part in a morning motorcycle ride for charity. Pence rode with the group to the fairgrounds, where candidates later gave speeches and chatted with barbecue-eating voters.

The former vice president, who has made frequent trips to Iowa over the past year, is expected to launch his 2024 presidential campaign at an event in Des Moines on Wednesday.

“I’ll be back a little later next week,” Pence teased the crowd when he spoke at the rally later in the day. “I don’t have anything to announce today.”

‘Standing Up to Disney’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared at the rally, along with his wife, Casey, and their three young children. DeSantis chatted with voters, gave out autographs, and signed the Bible of a man who thanked the Florida governor for “standing up to Disney.”

During his 2024 presidential launch, DeSantis defended his ongoing feud with the media giant, which dates back to a clash over a Florida bill that made it illegal to discuss sex and gender identity with children below fourth grade.

“Florida stands for the protection of children we believe jamming gender ideology in elementary school is wrong,” DeSantis said in late May. “Disney obviously supported injecting gender ideology in elementary school.”

Under DeSantis, Florida passed legislation that ended the special conditions that Disney enjoyed for decades in how it administered the district where Disney World is located, which basically gave the company near total operational autonomy.

Disney sued DeSantis over the move, accusing his administration of “weaponizing its power to inflict political punishment” on the media giant for its opposition to the Parental Rights in Education legislation.

DeSantis called the lawsuit meritless and political.

‘New-Generation Leader’?

In their speeches at the “Roast and Ride” event, the candidates all tiptoed around mentions of Trump.

Haley repeated a version of a line she has been using as a candidate that seems to allude to the 76-year-old Trump and the controversies associated with his political career.

“It’s time for a new-generation leader. We’ve got to leave the baggage of the negativity behind,” she said.

Trump, who is the Republican frontrunner for the 2024 presidential race by a wide margin, was absent from the “Roast and Ride” after spending two days in Iowa this past week.

Trump’s Iowa Town Hall

Earlier in the week, former president held a town hall-style event in Clive, Iowa, with Fox News host Sean Hannity serving as moderator.

Hannity said the “massive, incredible, enthusiastic” audience came out in “rain, thunder, and lightning” for the chance to hear Trump speak in person.

Asked by Hannity why Trump doesn’t “tone it down” when it comes to his tough rhetoric with regards to his political opponents, the former president said that the fierce opposition he faced while in office taught him that he needs to fight to stay in contention.

“I won an election. It was unprecedented … and from the day I got in [office], I was under siege … If I wasn’t tough, I wouldn’t be here right now,” he said, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Asked by an audience member what he would do to fix the economy, Trump said that price pressures continue to bedevil the U.S. economy.

“Inflation is a killer of countries …