The Attacks Begin
The printed attack ads have begun. Our very first printed ad from the Make America Great Again Super PAC supporting Donald Trump attacks Ron DeSantis.
My experience over the last several presidential elections is that attack ads usually only happen when you are behind or worried that someone else is surging in popularity.
No one is surprised when a candidate (especially Donald Trump) attacks an opponent with their own mouth. It's par for the course. But when a campaign or Super PAC puts money behind this type of attack, it takes on a whole new meaning. It usually says your opponent is running away with the narrative at the moment and doing very well in internal polls or your own campaign is falling down and you need to bring someone else down with you.
I am not surprised with this attack at all. Many people forget that Trump did not win Iowa in his first race. Ted Cruz won the state. And since Trump's second time in the state was uncontested (he was the incumbent), we really don't know how if Republican voters would have given him more or less support against other conservative candidates.
I haven't asked around a lot yet, but I get the feeling that contrary to the early polls, Trump is going to have a hard time winning Iowa this time around. We are still early, and we still have a lot of other potential candidates, but my crystal ball would say that Trump does not have a big lead in this state like so many others are still suggesting.
My experience over the last several presidential elections is that attack ads usually only happen when you are behind or worried that someone else is surging in popularity.
No one is surprised when a candidate (especially Donald Trump) attacks an opponent with their own mouth. It's par for the course. But when a campaign or Super PAC puts money behind this type of attack, it takes on a whole new meaning. It usually says your opponent is running away with the narrative at the moment and doing very well in internal polls or your own campaign is falling down and you need to bring someone else down with you.
I am not surprised with this attack at all. Many people forget that Trump did not win Iowa in his first race. Ted Cruz won the state. And since Trump's second time in the state was uncontested (he was the incumbent), we really don't know how if Republican voters would have given him more or less support against other conservative candidates.
I haven't asked around a lot yet, but I get the feeling that contrary to the early polls, Trump is going to have a hard time winning Iowa this time around. We are still early, and we still have a lot of other potential candidates, but my crystal ball would say that Trump does not have a big lead in this state like so many others are still suggesting.