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In GOP’s leadoff vote, Iowan hearts stay true to Trump

12 5
17.01.2024
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  • No surprise, but Iowa’s GOP primary voters really love Trump
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Trump Iowa GOP 4eva

Good afternoon, and snowy greetings from the “rat-infested, graffiti-infested s---hole” of Washington, D.C., as GOP front-runner and former president Donald Trump recently described the fair city he is mystifyingly determined to return to one year from this Saturday. On Monday, the Republican primary season kicked off with the Iowa caucuses, and based on his showing there — news outlets were calling the state for Trump within half an hour — the man doesn’t seem to have much primary competition to worry about.

In Iowa, Trump drew more than 50 percent of the vote, coming in almost 30 points ahead of second-place finisher Ron DeSantis. “It turns out — who knew? — that cowering in Trump’s giant shadow is not a formula for success,” Karen Tumulty observes in a column on the unsurprising, definitive results. If there were any surprises, it was in the graciousness of Trump’s victory speech, in which he spoke kindly of his rivals (even Vivek Ramaswamy!), his family (including Melania) and Iowa officials.

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Amid Trump’s workaday life of court battles, flame-throwing rallies and key advisers promising mass deportations to begin on Inauguration Day, it can be easy to forget that he has this speed, too — the confident winner doing normal things such as praising his opponents. But Iowa’s GOP voters, at least, have that presidential-enough Trump in their mind’s eye.

Dana Milbank, who spent time in Iowa leading up to caucus night, sees how the former president is resonating there: “I used to think there was a large enough anti-Trump contingent in the Republican electorate that, if given a clear alternative to the demagogue, they would take it. But in Iowa, the voters had such a chance — and stuck with Trump.”

As Dana points out, it’s not for lack of challengers. “Is there........

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