Oh, come on.
Because I was told I could not do well in Iowa, I spent very little there – a fraction of Cruz & Rubio. Came in a strong second. Great honor
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2016
Who was telling Trump he could not do well in Iowa? He hit 20 percent in August and never dropped below it. He led the polls in that state from August to mid-October, trailed Ben Carson for a few weeks, retook the lead for a few weeks, then lost it to Cruz for about four weeks, and led every poll since January 20.
This is the man who recites his high poll numbers in just about every stump speech. He did 57 events in the state over 37 days. Now we’re to believe that Trump chose to not spend money, because he didn’t think he could win?
Donald Trump exuded confidence the day before his first election day, urging supporters Sunday to caucus for him and even talking about the criteria for a vice president. “We’re going to win, we’re going to win,” Trump told an enthusiastic crowd in a middle school gym. “We’re leading everywhere.”
In the closing days, Trump told us, “Unless I win, I would consider this a big, fat, beautiful—and, by the way, a very expensive—waste of time.”
Let’s take Trump’s tweet at his word; he had a winnable state in his grasp but chose not to expend the resources he needed because he listened to the naysayers.