Entrance poll surveys of Iowa voters supported the theory. The next primary debate will likely feature certain candidates like Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie and Donald Trump. Trump won only 14% of those late-deciding voters.
Advertisement
But Cruz could face a “long-term mortal threat” in Rubio, Todd said, because the Floridian’s rise puts the Texas senator “in a two-front war” with him and Trump. “I told them they will picket for about 20 minutes and then they will want to go to lunch”.
Some Fox officials had privately predicted – and perhaps hoped for – this result.
Trump boycotted Iowa’s only debate over an ongoing feud with Fox News, opting instead to host a fundraiser for veterans’ causes, which Trump said brought in $6 million. Scott Brown. “Some were saying, he came in second, he started off in 10th and came in second”.
In fact, if it was a loss, which you should understand it wasn’t, the reason might have been that he chose to ditch the Fox debate.
Trump said maybe him skipping the debate hurt him – but he said he doesn’t regret fundraising for vets during the forum.
He talked about the “war on Christmas”, telling the audience that when he becomes president, “We are going to say Merry Christmas a lot, believe me folks”.
With the Hawkeye state now in the rearview mirror and the February 9 New Hampshire primaries quickly approaching, there are no indications that either Republican or Democrats are any closer to picking a nominee. Trump claimed afterward that if he had attended, he would have doubled the ratings.
On Twitter, the billionaire said he was happy with the second place finish considering how little time and money he spent there.
Fox’s senior political analyst Brit Hume said “this whole aura about him may begin to subside”.
Republican front-runner Donald Trump said Tuesday that he decision to skip the final GOP debate before the Iowa caucuses may have led to his second place finish in the early voting state after leading in polls in the weeks prior to the contest. In response to this question, considered unfair by Trump, he skipped last Thursday night’s debate because Kelly was on the panel again. The shrewd and clever self-promoter adept at conning people has attracted more viewers to the network while Mr. Trump is able to reach more viewers with his message.
Advertisement
Manu Raju, Jennifer Agiesta, and David Chalian contributed reporting.
