Trump associate to court potential supporters in Iowa

One of real estate mogul Donald Trump's top business advisers will head to Iowa Monday to meet with GOP activists and lawmakers in the state ahead of a potential Trump presidential bid. 

Michael Cohen, a vice president in Trump's vast real estate development empire, will fly to the state on a Trump private jet, the Associated Press reported on Friday.

Cohen is expected to meet with top Iowa Republicans in a visit that could begin laying the groundwork for a potential 2012 presidential run. 

Earlier this week, Trump pledged to wage a vigorous campaign for the Iowa caucuses should he decide to make a run at the Republican nomination next year. He told the Des Moines Register that he plans to head to Iowa soon and will make it a point to "meet many, many people -- maybe all of the people" in the state if he launches a campaign.    

Trump has already said he's willing to pour a "tremendous" amount of his personal wealth into a presidential bid, but it's unclear how the Republican base would respond to his candidacy. 

Last month, he was generally well received at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, telling conservative activists that he was "tempted" to run in 2012 because the United States is currently the economic "laughingstock" of the world.