A direct negative campaign ad targeting the senator and spectre of socialism revealed what could become an electoral weapon

Television viewers in Iowa are being confronted by one of the first direct negative ads of the 2020 Democratic election campaign. The target: Senator Bernie Sanders and the spectre of socialism.

“I like Bernie, I think he has great ideas, but Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa – they’re just not going to vote for a socialist,” says one man in the near-$700,000 media campaign by Democratic Majority for Israel’s political action arm. “I just don’t think Bernie can beat Trump.”

The message was music to the ears of Donald Trump’s supporters as the US president held a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday. Many agreed with the sentiment of the ad and suggested that fears of socialism would be a potent electoral weapon in the event of Sanders, from Vermont, becoming the Democratic nominee.

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“Bernie Sanders is a total socialist, communist guy and it’s insane that he’s the leading candidate,” said Mariah, 19, a student who did not wish to give her surname, explaining that she has been harassed for wearing Trump apparel on campus. “It’s a terrible idea and has never been successful anywhere.

“I don’t know why we keep trying it. It’s like sticking a fork in a [power] outlet. It’s not going to work and you’re going to get the crap shocked out of you.”

Mariah also ruled out considering a vote for former the vice-president Joe Biden, despite his centrist credentials. “He’s just trying to play to the radicals too. He doesn’t have a chance against Trump. He gets on a debate stage with Trump and it’s over.”

Sanders is the clear favorite among the 18- to 29-year-old electorate with 32% support among likely Democratic voters, according to a Forbes-Zogby under 30 voter survey released last week. But Mariah, a teenage first-time voter, is committed to the president despite his character flaws.

“Would I like him to watch over my kids? No. But it’s the presidency. He is the best option for keeping our country and following the constitution.”

Sanders, 78, a self-declared socialist with climate, education and healthcare plans costing trillions of dollars, has surged in Iowa ahead of Monday’s first-in-the-nation caucuses. Like Trump in the 2016 Republican primary, he has the benefit of a loyal base while fragmented moderates fail to coalesce around a single opponent.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Bernie Sanders campaign volunteer in Waterloo, Iowa, ahead of the caucuses next week. Photograph: Brenna Norman/Reuters

Other Trump supporters, when asked their views of the Democratic field, often brought up the word “socialism” unprompted while also brushing off the current impeachment trial in Washington as a “joke”.

Chad Palmer was sporting about 50 homemade blue and red Trump badges on his sweater and was warned to take it off before he passed through a metal detector. “I’d never vote Democrat because of what they believe about abortion,” said the 51-year-old construction worker. “They want to transform this country into something our founding fathers never intended it to be: socialist.

“Sanders would probably bankrupt the country with his ideas. It’s hard to believe in 2020 people still think there’s such a thing as a free lunch. I don’t think Biden is so much a socialist but he has a corruption problem. He knew a lot about what was going on in Ukraine and he’s on video saying it.”

Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives last month for making military aid to Ukraine conditional on the country announcing an investigation into Biden. But Palmer said: “It’s a bunch of crap. He was just looking out for the best interests of the country.”

Stefan Larsson, 63, a Swedish-born American citizen who served 12 years in the US army, quipped: “I come from the motherland of socialism and ultra liberalism, Sweden. It destroys family. Girls take abortions when they are 12.”

Asked about a Democratic president, Larsson, a corporate travelling chef, grimaced and said, “I just can’t find words.” Would Sanders be dangerous? “Absolutely.” What about Biden? “He is goofy but he would be the wisest. The others I wouldn’t even consider. Biden, as much as I hate to admit it, is probably the best.”

Jane Willey, 54, said: “They say everything is free; they’ve got the young vote. But the money has to come from somebody. Maybe our youth is not being educated. The positives of capitalism are not taught in schools any more. Capitalism is why we’re free and not in Venezuela. You don’t have to look very far to see what happens.”

Willey, who works at wellness centre, remains confident of victory in November despite opinion polls. “Our economy is doing well,” she added. “That has to help our president. Sometimes, because of Donald Trump’s character, people are afraid to admit they support him; he’s a controversial guy. But more people support him than the polls show.”

Her friend, Karen Anderson, 53, a kindergarten teacher, is no more impressed by Senator Elizabeth Warren. “She lied about being an Indian, so that speaks to her character.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Supporters at the Trump rally in Des Moines, Iowa. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Brad Drake, 50, a construction contractor, was wearing a sweater emblazoned with the words: “Trump 2020: The Sequel. Make liberals cry again.” He chortled at the idea of voting for a Democrat. “Sleepy Joe? I don’t think so. I don’t care for Bernie. He’s a socialist. You look at what it’s done to all the countries that practice socialism and that’s your answer right there.”

Nodding to the lines of people waiting to attend the rally, as music blared from loudspeakers, he added: “I don’t think we’d be able to do what we’re doing right now.”

Marycle Vicisaelli, 40, a baker, said of the Democrats: “None of them compares with Trump because I feel it’s been written in the stars for his presidency and, if he could be king, he would. His energy frequency already vibes at king level. It’s magical. I just feel the manifestation. It’s hard to explain without sounding crazy.”

But Thursday’s Trump rally also had an unexpected interloper: Sanders supporter Ethan St Clair, 37, who was curious to see the president but had no plans to stage a protest. “Bernie is the polar opposite of Trump,” he said. “He seems to be uncorrupted. He’s spent 40 years saying the same thing. Trump says one thing and does the opposite.”

Asked if he is worried about attacks painting Sanders as too leftwing, St Clair, a vehicle wholesaler, replied: “I don’t think it will be hard to run against. Trump is a corporate socialist, giving handouts to corporations. People have anti-establishment views, whether it’s left or right.”

St Clair did not have to wait long for Trump to go on the attack at Thursday’s rally. Opening his remarks in a packed basketball stadium, the president said: “We’re going to defeat the radical socialist Democrats who are right down the street.”

Later, he took a swipe at “Crazy Bernie” and framed the election as a choice between “American freedom and Democratic socialism”, adding: “The Democrats will lose because America will never be a socialist country.” The crowd roared its approval.