Donald Trump did something Tuesday night that he rarely does. He begged.

“Iowa, will you get your numbers up, please?” Trump said at an event in Sioux City. “Will you get these numbers up? I promise you: I will do such a good job,” Trump said, according to the Washington Post. “What the hell are you people doing to me?” he demanded at one point. Trump, who debates the other Republican presidential candidates Wednesday night, has seen his solid lead in Iowa evaporate as four new polls showed retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson surge to the top. The Post said Trump’s usual complaints about illegal immigration and jobs moving overseas were punctuated with new self-deprecating comments and humanizing details.