The Glass Is Half Something

Trump gets 51% of the vote in Iowa but doesn't get 49% of the vote in Iowa

Photo by Joseph Greve on Unsplash

When meditating, it is suggested that taking deep breaths returns us to the present. Pulling air in and feeling as it descends to the chest and stomach before being released through the mouth realigns us.

Inhale deeply. Feel it enter and revitalize your senses. Use the air for all it has to offer, and now let it back into the world. We are now grounded in the present. While our current present may seem to be on shaky ground, Donald Trump just won the Iowa caucuses; let’s fast forward to the future by taking a closer look at Trump’s win in Iowa.

First of all, it’s time that we — I am writing this to help myself accept this fact — get over the reality that a twice-impeached, once-convicted-for-insurrection former president is the overwhelming favorite for winning the nomination for president of the Republican Party. It’s time that we let this dead dog pass on to the other world. With a deep breath and a shrug of the shoulders, let’s say it together: “It is what it is.” 

Now, we must overcome this aberration.

It is true that Trump won convincingly in Iowa as 51 percent of caucus voters, braving brutally cold temperatures (Trump told them that if they died after casting their votes, then it was for a good cause — him), chose the criminal and future dictator. We also have to note that 49 percent of the people chose someone other than Trump. 

While it can be expected that many of those 49 percent in the general election will vote for their party’s nominee, we need to shine the light upon a couple of other things. Trump continued to dominate among the stupid. Let me break this down a bit. 66 percent of non-college-educated voted for Trump. Not having a college degree does not make someone stupid by any means. What makes a person stupid is casting a vote for Trump regardless of all that we know about him and how he is aligning his candidacy with some of the most grotesque figures in history.

The assumption that I will make about the 66 percent who cast votes for Trump is that because of their lack of education, they don’t know enough history to appreciate how bad Trump really is. The opinions of these people are shaped by both right-wing media and Trump’s lies. These voters lack the intellectual fortitude to discern between propaganda and truth. 

Trump was again strong in the rural areas and areas with fewer college graduates. His victory was less convincing in higher-income areas and areas with more college graduates. Nikki Haley did better in these areas than Trump, which could be a good sign for President Biden. 

Iowa shows that it’s a foregone conclusion that “stupid” will be the wind in Trump’s sails as he runs for the presidency for a third time. There is little that the Biden team can do to sway the under-educated, racist, and Foxified — the MAGAidiots. They are Trump’s core constituency, and sadly, they make up around 40 percent, maybe 43 percent, of our country in 2024. Nonetheless, if Biden can remind sane Americans just how bad the Trump presidency really was, then just perhaps a large percentage of the 21 percent and 16 percent who voted for DeSantis and Haley, respectively, will ultimately break for Biden. 

Mr. Trump improved significantly on his performance in the Iowa caucuses in 2016, when he received 24.3 percent of the vote, losing to Ted Cruz, who received 27.6 percent. Mr. Trump gained ground in many kinds of areas, but most of all in areas with lower average incomes and fewer college graduates (The Most Detailed Maps).

Next is Iowa, where supposedly Nikki Haley has narrowed Trump’s lead to single digits. It seems the Haley voters would be more likely to vote for Biden in the general election. If she has a few strong outings before Trump ultimately wins this thing, then it could be the “margin” of difference that Biden needs to slow Trump’s fascist revolution.