IOWA CAUCUS:
TRUMP WINS, DESANTIS 2ND
USA TODAY:
Former President Donald Trump clinched victory in the Iowa Caucuses on Monday, celebrating a quick win over his Republican rivals.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis secured second place ahead of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
Vivek Ramaswamy suspended his longshot 2024 bid after the caucuses came to a close, telling supporters there was "no path" forward for his campaign.
Ramaswamy said the next president must be an "America First" president. He said he would throw his support behind Donald Trump.
Donald Trump took on a conciliatory approach in his victory, complimenting his opponents and saying "we want to come together."
“This is the first, because the big night is going to be in November when we take back our country,” he said.
The former president didn't mind the quick call of the Iowa caucuses.
"I feel great," Trump told Fox News Digital in a post-win interview. "I am greatly honored by such an early call."
"It really is an honor that, minutes after, they’ve announced I’ve won - against very credible competition- great competition, actually," Trump said.
TWR: Former President Trump impressed me with his graceful acceptance of victory.
I have long criticized his proclivity for shooting himself in the feet with impolitic, off the cuff rants that are against his best interests.
Further, his willingness to ‘punch down’ against other candidates he leads by historic margins were no where evident in his post-win speech.
My consistent advice for this former President has been that if he wants to regain the Oval Office, he must behave like a President…Not a juvenile loose cannon.
What I saw last night was exactly that…Well done, Sir….
IOWA REPUBLICAN VOTER ANALYSIS
FOX NEWS:
Donald Trump notched a commanding win in the Iowa GOP caucuses, more than doubling the 24% support he received in 2016.
Trump won almost every demographic group by double-digit margins.
He was particularly strong among some of the largest groups of Iowa Republican caucus goers: those without a college degree, very conservative voters and rural voters.
Trump won 55% of White evangelical Christians, a crucial bloc of Iowa voters, more than double DeSantis’ 24% and Haley’s 13%.
More than 6 in 10 caucusgoers consider themselves supporters of the Make America Great Again movement, and most of them (74%) backed Trump.
In a hint of the next challenge for Trump – ensuring the full party is united behind him if he wins the nomination – non-MAGA voters backed Haley by 8 points, with DeSantis second.
DeSantis’ main sources of strength – the college-educated, very conservative voters and suburbanites – overlapped with both Haley’s and Trump’s.
While he did not win any major demographic group outright, his advantages over Haley among White evangelicals (+11 points) and those who felt abortion should be illegal in all cases (+30 points) were enough to vault him into second place.
Haley ran strongest among college graduates, suburban voters and political moderates. Despite her pro-life record, Haley had a notable 22-point advantage over DeSantis among voters who felt abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
TWR: Here is a small piece of statistical theory…
The actual turnout for the Iowa Caucuses was down in comparison to other Presidential election cycles…
This means that the demographical information discussed in this article is slightly more diluted than in past years.
Also, comparing Trump’s voter demographics with those of DeSantis & Haley is almost an ‘apples & oranges’ scenario.
Trump’s numbers are so much greater than those of his opponents, the margin of error in the statistical analysis of either of the other candidates expands dramatically.
Safe bets?
· Trump won big.
· The reliability of demographic stats of Trump’s voters are much more solid than those of his opponents.
· It remains to be seen whether New Hampshire or South Carolina Evangelicals see the former President the same was Iowan Evangelicals do.
CNN ANALYST STEPHEN COLLINSON WRITES THAT TRUMP WIN ENSHRINES AN ‘ASTONISHING’ POLITICAL COMEBACK
CNN:
Former President Donald Trump’s huge win in the Iowa caucuses on Monday enshrines one of the most astonishing comebacks in American political history.
Losing one-term presidents almost never mount subsequent successful primary campaigns, much less pull off landslides that demonstrate utter dominance of their party.
Trump transformed the GOP in his populist, nationalist, nihilistic image in 2016.
By claiming 50% of the vote in the biggest win in caucus history, putting him on course to his third consecutive nomination, he showed that eight years after his outsider presidential victory, the current GOP is entirely his party.
The ex-president’s rebound is more stunning for another reason. He won despite 91 criminal charges and other legal entanglements that threaten his freedom and his fortune.
In a head-spinning snapshot of the unprecedented times, he’s expected to show up in a courtroom in Manhattan on Tuesday morning for the opening of a defamation trial.
TWR: In my view, Mr. Collinson’s ‘astonishment’ belies a blind spot in his observations of the American Electorate.
He is astonished because his personal political bias makes plain reality impossible for him to accurately perceive.
Therefore the non-existent ‘comeback’ he credits Trump with is surprising only to him.
Trump’s electoral strength is, and has been, completely evident to everyone else.
MEDIA MALFUNCTION:
MSNBC ANCHOR JOY REID’S RACIST SCREED AGAINST IOWA’S CHRISTIANS
FOX NEWS:
MSNBC host Joy Reid responded to former President Trump’s victory at the Iowa Caucuses Monday by condemning "White Christians" who support him.
As the results came in, Reid wished to discuss a specific data point about "White Christians," one she had discussed with Robert "Robbie" Jones, the president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and author of "The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy."
She recounted that he had told her that Iowa is about 61% White Christian, whereas the country as a whole is approximately 41% White Christian.
She asked him why this specific demographic supports Trump, then answered her own question…”They see themselves as the rightful inheritors of this country, and Trump has promised to give it back to them.”
Reid then told her co-hosts, “…Everyone who is not a White, conservative Christian is a fraudulent American, is a less real American.”
"White evangelical Christians of a certain mindset" think "that they own this country, that immigrants, that Brown people, that Hindus like Vivek Ramaswamy and his wife are illegitimate Americans.”
She finished with, "They’re not trying to convince people and win people over through politics…What they’re saying is, ‘We own this country, and everyone will bow down to us.’"
TWR: It’s obvious…MSNBC’S Joy Reid is:
· Angry
· Bitter
· Racist
· Divisive
· Bigoted, and now
· Not Credible
I have no idea what Nation Joy Reid lives in, but that country has nothing to do with these United States…
Her Harvard Education explains her bigoted history of anti-Jewish statements, but now she has apparently moved on to Christians.
Ms. Reid is apparently self-ensnared in the Don Lemon-esque destruction of her career.
I wish her well in her future pursuits.
ISRAEL/HAMAS:
ISRAEL’S GAZA OPERATIONAL SCALE BACK BEGINS
FOX NEWS:
Israel will begin to scale down its military offensive in the southern Gaza Strip, according to its defense minister.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said at a news conference Monday that Israel recently ended its intensive ground operation in northern Gaza after taking military control of the area and that he expected similar action would happen in the south as well.
"It will end soon," he said. "In both places we will reach the moment for the next stage."
The comment comes a day after the White House urged Israel to scale back its ground operations as the country’s war against Hamas in Gaza crossed the 100-day milestone on Sunday.
TWR: So far, Israel has handled the response to the Hamas October 7th Slaughter with near perfection.
This achievement is made especially impressive when the obvious anti-Jewish Bigotry of the entire world is on constant display…
Strangely, Israel is now confronted with an obtuse quandary:
When they withdraw from Gaza, the next murderous round of Raping, Torturing, Murdering Hamas Terrorism will begin the initial planning process.
However, that demonstratedly bigoted, genocidal savagery will be forestalled only for as long as Israel stays there…
IRGC CLAIMS BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK ON MOSSAD SPY BASE
CNN:
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Monday launched ballistic missiles at what it said was a spy base for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad in northern Iraq, and at other “anti-Iran terror groups” in Syria, in the latest escalation of hostilities that further risks spiraling into a wider regional conflict.
The strikes were condemned by the United States as “reckless” and imprecise.
Iranian forces said the midnight missile strike in Iraq destroyed “one of the main espionage headquarters” of Israel in Erbil, capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, in response to what they said were Israeli attacks that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders and members of the Iranian resistance front.
TWR: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once called Iran, “The World’s First Suicide Country.”
Apparently, Iran missed the implied meaning of that benevolent, though pointed statement.
Perhaps Iran’s disregard for Israeli warnings is propelled by the mirage of confidence given them by the dystopian enablement of policy decisions from the Biden/Obama Administrations…
CELEBS:
THE BEST & WORST MOMENTS FROM THE EMMY AWARDS
FOX NEWS:
The 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards Broadcast could have been a train-wreck of disastrous proportions…But it wasn’t. Why? The sure-footed hosting skills of M.C Anthony Anderson.
The entire show was a nostalgic, sentimental, well-done homage to TV Glories past, weaved into the triumphs of Television entertainment present.
The present-day nominations were announced through the Cast Reunions of beloved Emmy-Winning shows from years gone by.
The Highlights:
· "The Bear" star Jeremy Allen White won his first Emmy award Monday, and helped "The Bear" earn a total of six trophies.
· Natasha Lyonne and Tracee Ellis Ross furiously stuffed chocolate into their mouths during a reenactment of a legendary "I Love Lucy" episode at the Emmy awards.
· The "Ally McBeal" cast reunited with Calista Flockhart, Greg Germann, Peter MacNicol and Gil Bellows dancing across the stage after meeting on a bathroom set on stage.
· Matthew Perry, Norman Lear and Suzanne Somers were just a few of the many stars honored Monday during the In Memoriam segment at the 75th Primetime Emmy awards.
Charlie Puth performed "I'll Be There For You" with The War and Treaty at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California.
"All in the Family" costars Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers introduced the segment from iconic living room set of their show, with the catchphrase "those were the days."
· Elton John earned EGOT status after winning an Emmy award for his "Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium" concert.
Executive producer Gabe Turner accepted the outstanding variety special award on behalf of the "Tiny Dancer" singer.
Elton's husband, David Furnish, was FaceTiming with the legendary performer after the big win, and said, "He screamed out loud. he was like 'Yes!' he was really happy, incredibly honored."
John is only the 19th person to become an EGOT winner, an abbreviation of the four major awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.
TWR: Having spent decades as a Master of Ceremonies, my sincere admiration goes out to Anthony Anderson…
If you’re perfect at that job…Very few people even notice. If you make any error at all, especially in the current Awards Show context of “no one is good enough to do this job”, you’re first ridiculed, then vilified, as Jo Koy just found out at the Golden Globes.
What was missing?
The Obnoxious, Narcissistic political preening/virtue signaling normally seen at this event…Made especially notable because of the presence of the insufferable Rob Reiner.
Finally, Elton John’s Quadfecta of winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony was perfect.
Well Done Emmys!!
Jon-David Wells, Host - The Wells Report c: 2023
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