Nolte: Trump Ran the Best Iowa Campaign. Period.

Former President Trump scored a historic win in Monday night’s Iowa Caucus for only one reason: he ran the best campaign.

Did a sense of incumbency help Trump? Sure. But if you look back at the polling, which ended up being pretty dead on this cycle, back in May, Iowa was shaping up to be a real contest.

Throughout May, Gov. Ron DeSantis was within striking distance. Trump looked vulnerable in more than one poll. This could have been a real contest. Instead, it was a humiliating blow-out for anyone not named Donald Trump. And let’s not forget that Trump lost Iowa to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in 2016.

So what changed?

Let’s face it… The DeSantis campaign was never not a train wreck. The candidate, who always knew what needed to be said and worked electoral miracles in Florida, floundered on the national stage. He never found his voice. He never found a message. In a few words, tell me what the DeSantis campaign’s message was. Tell me his vision for the country.

The only thing I can think of is, “I’m Donald Trump without the baggage” — which might be the worst message ever conceived. That message won’t win a single Trump supporter because we don’t care about the “baggage.” Most of that baggage is media-manufactured hoaxes and lies. Moreover, how in the world is “I’m Donald Trump without the baggage” going to attract people who don’t like Trump?

Being a great governor means little on the national stage. Ask Tommy Thompson. Ask Scott Walker. It’s a totally different skill set, the difference between watercolor and water skiing.

Former Gov. Nikki Haley’s (R-SC) problem is this: she’s not very bright. Sorry, she’s just not. With Haley, it’s one jaw-dropping deer-in-the-headlight moment after another. Even when one’s tossed slow and over the plate — What caused the Civil War? Can a man become a woman? —rather than smoke it out of the park (Democrats refused to give up their slaves, and No.), she goes the full-Kamala.

I don’t care how well Haley polls against Biden; she does not have the skills to survive the corporate media’s CrazyStupid gauntlet. We’d be looking at McCain/Romney 2: The Skirt. No thanks.

And what was John McCain’s message? I have no idea.

Vivek Ramaswamy showed something. That kid has a future. His youth and lack of wear worked against him, but like Trump, he gave Americans the green light to speak truths about January 6, gender ideology, the corrupt media, and illegal immigration. He’s smart as hell. Likable. Poised. He’d make a great press secretary.

As far as former Gov. Chris Christie, he’s still the fat, narcissistic loudmouth looking to be on TV he always was. The only thing I want to see from Chris Christie is how he gets up off the floor.

Here’s what Trump did right…

He kept a lower profile. Rather than the self-destructive need to dominate every one of our dozen daily news cycles, he laid back and let his presidential record do the talking. My hope is that this was deliberate on Trump’s part and not due to the kangaroo courts fascist Democrats have created to imprison him. I doubt he can win re-election in fifth gear. He wears people out and gins up the vote against him.

If he remains in second gear and smart enough to be boring now and again, he can win that second term.

Trump avoided those godawful debates. The Stupid Party will never learn. And it’s bad enough the GOP submits their candidates to DNC operatives in the corporate media. Still, the candidates then turn it into a shit show with all the interrupting and canned insults. The GOP will tell you that these primary debates need to be on national TV, and only left-wing outlets can afford to make that happen. Why do they have to be on national TV? Primary debates used to be low-key, serious local affairs. Idiots.

Like Fred Astaire, Trump beautifully navigated every tripwire strung for him by the left-wing establishment media, Deep State, Justice Department, and Democrat persecutors. Team Trump’s execution of that mugshot was every bit as eloquent as Astaire dancing on the ceiling. Pardon me for taking the comparison too far, but watching Trump outfox and infuriate people who hate me puts the same smile on my face as Astaire saying it with firecrackers.

And Trump is always on message: secure the border, deport the illegals… You don’t need me to repeat because everyone already knows what he stands for, and that’s how you humiliate second place in Iowa.

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I find myself reading less and less these days as all pop culture (books, movies, music) have degenerated into simplistic “content” that tries to beat you over the head with a message. That being said, I found … Borrowed Time to be refreshing and delightful with complex characters and a messy (re: authentic) world. Also, I have to commend you on your idea of what heaven looks like. Too many writers have a trite vision of heaven, but I found both versions of heaven that you came up with (Doreen’s version of heaven as a campground with the Arthurs and Mason’s version with Doreen and Hok’ee) to be true to those characters and sublime.  — Reader email.

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