Trump Handles Iowa Loss as Well as Expected
Trump’s “fraud” laden rant
Watching the votes trickle in from Iowa’s Caucus Monday night, I suggested a second-place finish for Trump would be an unenjoyable experience for us all:
Lord help us all. Trump not winning, when half of his platform is “look at me beating everyone in the polls!” will make him insufferable.
— Kemberlee Kaye (@KemberleeKaye) February 2, 2016
Less than 48 hours later, Trump had a meltdown for the history books. He accused Sen. Ted Cruz (who won 27.6% of the vote to Trump’s 24.3%) of “stealing” the Iowa Caucus.
Ted Cruz didn’t win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016
Trump referenced the kerfuffle between the Cruz and Carson campaigns as evidence of Cruz’s “fraud.” In actuality, CNN reported Carson would be leaving Iowa (and he was), Cruz’s campaign circulated the news to its caucus goers, who were instructed to inform their respective voters.
When CNN’s report went live, Carson’s campaign said he was returning home for “fresh clothes.” Adorable if true. But, someone from Camp Carson had to give the network the impression Carson was on his way out.
See here:
After the #IAcaucus, @RealBenCarson plans to take a break from campaigning https://t.co/hTJA5XI7NN https://t.co/GqExX4ujv2
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 2, 2016
Here:
Dr. Ben Carson will NOT be going directly to NH or SC, but instead will head home in Florida to rest, see family regardless of Iowa outcome.
— Nia-Malika Henderson (@niaCNN) February 2, 2016
And here:
BREAKING: @moody has learned @realbencarson will return to FL following #IAcaucus, will not go to either NH or SC https://t.co/jl8NOY9KEx
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) February 2, 2016
CNN reporter Chris Moody also reported:
Ben Carson will likely speak at his victory party in Iowa before caucus results are in so he can catch a flight.
— Chris Moody (@moody) February 2, 2016
Carson won’t go to NH/SC, but instead will head home to Florida for some R&R. He’ll be in DC Thursday for the National Prayer Breakfast.
— Chris Moody (@moody) February 2, 2016
Ben Carson’s campaign tells me he plans to stay in the race beyond Iowa no matter what the results are tonight.
— Chris Moody (@moody) February 2, 2016
A big story? Hardly. Simply politics and it ain’t always pretty.
During primetime of the Iowa Caucus, Cruz put out a release that @RealBenCarson was quitting the race, and to caucus (or vote) for Cruz.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016
Many people voted for Cruz over Carson because of this Cruz fraud. Also, Cruz sent out a VOTER VIOLATION certificate to thousands of voters.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016
Point for the voter violation mailers which were in poor taste. I mean, nothing says “limited government candidate” like leveraging public data to intimidate voters. But I digress.
The Voter Violation certificate gave poor marks to the unsuspecting voter(grade of F) and told them to clear it up by voting for Cruz. Fraud
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016
And finally, Cruz strongly told thousands of caucusgoers (voters) that Trump was strongly in favor of ObamaCare and “choice” – a total lie!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016
Fact check: Does it smell like something’s burning? Because YOUR PANTS ARE ON FIRE.
Did Trump say he would “repeal and replace” Obamacare? Yes. He also said he’d replace Obamacare with something the government will pay for… Universal Health Care.
Record Republican turnout? Meh. Sen. Cruz received more votes than any candidate in Iowa Caucus history? Double meh. Trump wants those votes nullified!
Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016
The State of Iowa should disqualify Ted Cruz from the most recent election on the basis that he cheated- a total fraud!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2016
Trump is toying with filing suit over the Iowa Caucus results. BuzzFeed reported earlier:
Donald Trump says he will probably sue over the results of the Iowa caucuses, accusing Ted Cruz of committing voter fraud to win.
In an interview on Boston Herald Radio on Wednesday, Trump criticized the Cruz campaign for spreading a CNN report saying Ben Carson would not travel to New Hampshire and South Carolina after the Iowa caucuses, suggesting Carson was getting out of the race. Cruz apologized to Carson on Tuesday for his campaign not sending out updates that Carson was doing laundry and not dropping out.
“One of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen. They said he was quitting the race and to vote for him,” said Trump.
Asked if he would sue, Trump said, “I probably will; what he did is unthinkable. He said the man has left the race and he said it during the caucus. And then when the clarification was put out by Ben Carson saying it’s untrue, they got the statement and they didn’t put it out.”
Sarah Palin, who recently endorsed Trump, jumped on the “Cruz stole Iowa” bandwagon this afternoon, posting a lengthy rant to her public Facebook page:
Dirty Politics: Witnessing Firsthand It’s Always Heartbreaking, Never SurprisingThank heavens Donald Trump opened so…
Posted by Sarah Palin on Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Maybe 2014 Trump was on to something:
“No one remembers who came in second.” – Walter Hagen
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 17, 2014
Follow Kemberlee on Twitter @kemberleekaye
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