'Roast and Ride': Republican primary revs up with bikers, BBQs and a Trump-shaped hole

There were hay bales and Harley-Davidsons. There was sliced pork and campaign paraphernalia. There were earnest speeches about defeating Democrats winning back the White House. But at the centre of it all was a Donald Trump-shaped hole. The Republican presidential primary for 2024 got under way in earnest on Saturday when eight contenders - minus Trump - took part in Iowa senator Joni Ernst's "Roast and Ride", a combination of barbecue-rally and motorcycle ride. The annual event is a slice of pure Americana. When a young pastor offered a prayer from the back of a pickup truck outside a big…