Narrow the field
Following Monday night’s Iowa caucuses’ results and Donald Trump’s overwhelming and expected victory, several Republican presidential candidates quit the race. Farewell to Vivek Ramaswamy (good riddance, as the Trump toady was a rude, insulting embarrassment) and to Asa Hutchinson (who, along with the departed Chris Christie, were the only ones who correctly and honorably said that criminal convictions should disqualify Trump).
We wish we could also say that Ron DeSantis was heading back to Tallahassee after his resounding defeat in his all or nothing stake on Iowa, but DeSantis is pretending that getting crushed by Trump yet narrowly besting Nikki Haley by 2,335 votes (23,420 to 21,085) for second place is getting his ticket punched. More like he got his clock cleaned and he doesn’t want to recognize it.
That behavior, to refuse to accept a defeat is a prime characteristic of Trump. Trump loses elections, like he lost the popular votes in 2016 and 2020 and the Electoral College vote in 2020, yet claims he won. Just like he loses court verdicts and denies the outcome. He lost his Manhattan state civil fraud trial brought by state Attorney General Tish James and he lost his Manhattan federal sexual abuse and defamation brought by E. Jean Carroll, but only because the trials were “rigged.”
He is now poised to lose to Carroll again, as her second defamation trial opened yesterday.
That Trump chose to fly to Manhattan to attend last week’s closing arguments in the James case (and blatantly defied the judge’s orders to keep his comments to the facts and law of suit) and that he voluntarily chose to attend the Carroll case yesterday shows that he understands that it plays on his phony claim that he is the poor victim of a coordinated Democratic legal pile up directed by the Biden White House. It’s garbage, but it riles his base.
In the Carroll case, the judge will direct that should Trump testify he cannot deny knowing Carroll. He can’t deny defaming her. He can’t deny sexually abusing her. At issue is only the level of damages he must pay. Trump can flout his multiple civil verdicts and just pay more and more.
It will be different for his forthcoming criminal trials, all four of them. He will be compelled to appear and he will not be able to flout criminal convictions that could jail him, which is why Hutchinson and Christie said that should disqualify him.
As for the nomination contest, when DeSantis quits, likely after getting humiliated next week in New Hampshire, Haley will have her chance for a one-on-one.
Even in Iowa this week, Trump barely broke 50% among Republicans. Hopefully, Haley can harness that sentiment behind her. Recall that eight years ago, the field began with 12 Republicans competing in Iowa (another five quit before Iowa) and Trump didn’t win a majority in any primary or caucus until the New York primary on April 19, 2½ months — and 40 contests — after Iowa.
A binary choice: Trump and his insane and dangerous breaking of accepted constitutional traditions going back to the Founding or a normal Republican who was a governor and an ambassador and who accepts the fact that Joe Biden won fair and square four years ago.
The choice for the party should be easy.