- Illionis Governor JB Pritzker said former President Donald Trump’s victory in Iowa was a sign of weakness because so many Republicans chose someone else
- While Trump received about 51 percent of the vote, another 49 percent of Iowa caucusgoers chose another Republican candidate
- “This is the most famous Republican. He is the man who actually built the modern Republican Party,” Pritzker said on MSNBC
A top Democrat, Illionis Gov. JB Pritzker, said Monday night that former President Donald Trump’s outburst in Iowa was a signal of weakness, as nearly half of Republicans in the Hawkeye State voted for someone else.
Pritzker appeared on MSNBC with Rachel Maddow and presented his glass as half full for Democrats.
Trump dominated the Hawkeye State caucuses, winning 51 percent of the vote, compared to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ 21.2 percent, a former U.N. ambassador. Nikki Haley’s 19.1 percent and Vivek Ramaswamy’s 7.7 percent.
‘Think about that. I mean, this is the most famous Republican. He’s the guy who, you know, actually built the modern Republican Party, the MAGA Republican Party that the Democrats opposed,” Pritzker said. “And half the people in that party didn’t vote for Donald Trump.”
The former president’s victory was so dominant that Ramaswamy, the 38-year-old tech entrepreneur and best-selling author, quit and immediately endorsed Trump.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday night on MSNBC that former President Donald Trump’s dominant victory in Iowa was a sign of weakness as nearly half of Republican voters chose another candidate.
Former President Donald Trump addresses supporters in Iowa on Monday evening after defeating his Republican rivals by about 30 points in the Iowa caucuses
Both DeSantis and Haley vowed to press ahead, with the next primary to be held in New Hampshire on January 23.
Collectively, the voter turnout for DeSantis, Haley and Ramaswamy was 48 percent — although Ramaswamy’s supporters will likely move to Trump in the ensuing primaries.
Still, Pritzker argued the results were “telling.”
“It tells you the weakness of Donald Trump and also the opportunities for the Democrats, because ultimately, look, if the base doesn’t enthusiastically go for Donald Trump in the general election, and the Democrats turn out to be their base, this is all over, you know, independents, and independents don’t like Donald Trump,” Pritzker said.
“So I think we’re in a pretty good place tonight to see what happens on the Republican side,” the Illinois governor added.
The CBS/YouGov survey released Sunday showed President Joe Biden trailing Trump, DeSantis and Haley — but the race was closest when Trump was voting.
DeSantis defeated Biden by three points, just outside the two-point margin of error, while Haley dominated Biden with an eight-point victory, picking up independents and erasing his lead among female voters.
But Pritzker predicted that if When Trump won in New Hampshire and South Carolina, where Haley previously served as governor, the primary was likely over.
Haley has polled within striking distance of Trump in the Granite State and likely won some of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s voters when he dropped out of the race on Wednesday.
But that may not be enough — and she’s currently following Trump in her home state.
Even if DeSantis or Haley were able to win a primary, “they would govern like mini-Trump Republicans,” Pritzker also said, indicating that Democrats would tie them to Trump’s MAGA policies.
“They all have the exact position you mentioned earlier: a six-week ban on abortion, they want a national abortion ban,” he told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.
“The Republican Party is anti-working families, and Donald Trump, I think, is representative of everything that is wrong with the current climate in politics,” Pritzker added.