Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

When Donald Trump won the Iowa Caucuses last week, that wasn’t news. When he won almost all of the counties in the state, that wasn’t news. When MSNBC and CNN refused to air Trump’s victory speech soon after the votes were still being counted, that became news. News to Trump’s supporters that is. Trump’s supporters were irate because the cable giants didn’t broadcast (MSNBC) all or some(CNN) of their speech, saying that a leading candidate for his party’s nomination was denied his right to “speak to the nation” on what the Iowa win meant and his message to America. Trump “was being censored” is what some said, even though all broadcast networks gave coverage in Iowa because that usually is when the nomination process officially kicks off. Conservatives were particularly incensed with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow who announced that they would not broadcast any of Trump’s speech because much if not all of the things he was going to say were untrue. CNN cut away from Trump’s speech because he wasn’t saying anything of substance, nothing that already hadn’t been said numerous times before. In other words, even after a big win for him on the road to the White House, Trump was speaking to his base, not the entire nation. It has been stated numerous times over the years by the media that Trump has been “less than” truthful when he says certain things when it pertains to facts. Other media outlets such as Fox broadcast Trump’s speech while at the same time lambasting their media colleagues. Now, a week later Iowa is forgotten and New Hampshire is up for grabs. Trump is expected to win, but not by overwhelming margins, as Nikki Haley seems to be making a move. Some may see this as one horse gaining on the lead horse giving those who bet on that horse hope that he/she might win the race. Accordingly, the polls, though a little tight in New Hampshire say that Trump will win. Then it’s off to South Carolina where things should get interesting. That’s because South Carolina is Haley’s home state. The bad news is that a “major” candidate will no longer be in the race.

Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race over the weekend, ending a campaign that seemed doomed from the beginning. The campaign got off to an embarrassing start, even though DeSantis had strong Republican backing because Trump was (still is) mired in legal issues, issues with Disney may have been costly for him. Also, for DeSantis, one can run on “being woke” for only so long with voters and that can become stale. He had problems with the state’s Republican party chairman who was ousted after it was revealed that he and his wife were in a three-way affair with another woman. DeSantis had money issues within his campaign, as donors’ contributions dropped off. Perhaps DeSantis’ biggest problem facing him was his persona. He didn’t have that “it” factor like Trump among a national base. He wasn’t what one would call a “likable” person outside of Florida. He waited too late to seriously criticize Trump as being the wrong individual to lead the nation while emphasizing what he did in Florida, knowing that he couldn’t alienate Trump voters. He stayed away from the legal issues surrounding Trump, nor did he mention whether Trump was “morally fit” as religion/faith issues were never brought up. DeSantis never brought the fight to Trump, as neither did his fellow challengers, something that Nikki Haley will not do for fear of falling into the same trap as DeSantis and others. Now that DeSantis is out, Trump will unload on Haley. Trump “is no gentleman” around women as shown by his track record, but Republican women, especially in Congress don’t seem to mind. He is pulling the same trick on Haley as he did with President Obama by throwing the red meat to his base and questioning her birthright. Haley may have been a governor, but there is a vast difference between being a governor and a president. Trump was not a governor either, but as a cunning businessman, he understood power. Four years of being one of the most powerful men in the world is perhaps what’s pushing Trump to regain that power, not to make America an economic powerhouse once again, but to show the world that in the wrong hands, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.