Donald Trump wins first contest
Iowa caucuses overwhelmingly went for former President
Donald Trump won the Iowa caucuses on Monday. The political victory set the stage for a rematch between President Joe Biden and the former president.
It’s surreal that we live in a country now where a prospective commander-in-chief could be sitting in prison after being convicted of a felony. According to a new CBS News/YouGov poll, Trump's also leading among general voters. They have him up 50 percent to 48 percent for Biden.
So what does this all mean for reproductive rights and liberalism?
Trump has downplayed his opposition to abortion during the Republican primary, hoping that he could secure the nomination while not alienating a growing movement of pro-choice Democrats and Republicans. Last week, he said he was for exceptions to bans while at the same time bragging about being the president who finally overturned Roe v. Wade.
Despite his hedging, antiabortion groups that criticized him said recently that they would support his candidacy in the general election. Marjorie Dannenfelser of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America told the Washington Post that Trump’s presidency was the most consequential in American history for the antiabortion cause.
The bigger question is how he will direct the Food & Drug Administration to treat mifepristone and misoprostol. Again, many of the questions we’ve heard on the campaign trail have been rooted in the atmosphere that surrounded abortion before the advent of medication forms of it.
Liberal leaders must decide how to allocate the campaign funds and which operatives to empower going into the 2024 election. Those decisions will, in large part, determine whether they can thwart Trump.
Democrats have to contend with criticisms surrounding inflation, high-interest rates, massive debt collecting interest, and a lost war in Afghanistan. Then there are the questions about the president’s age and mental competence.
Despite being the most divisive president in history, Trump called for unity in his victory speech. He said he would drill for oil and seal the border. He said immigrants were invading the country. He then characterized them as coming from prisons, insane asylums, and terror havens.
“We are going to have a deportation level that we haven’t seen for a long time,” Trump said. “Since Dwight Eisenhower.”
The hitting points on Trump are apparent, but he’s impervious to some criticisms. Most voters do not care that he’s indicted and could be convicted.
It’s a dangerous time in the country’s history. If Trump were to get elected, he could politicize the Justice Department and go after his enemies. His supporters would say he’s just doing what was done to him. That means espionage on activists and political rivals. It means investigations that may not have merit. It may mean wrongful imprisonment.
I will continue to cover the election as it evolves.