Iowa and New Hampshire contests showcased Trump's strengths, but they also highlighted his weaknesses
From CNN's Steve Contorno, Kristen Holmes, Daniel Strauss and Alayna Treene
The first two Republican presidential nominating contests have validated what has been apparent for nearly eight years: Donald Trump remains a singular, dominant force within his party.
But Iowa caucusgoers and New Hampshire primary voters also exposed noticeable chinks in Trump’s electoral armor and worrying general election headwinds that he and his campaign will face in the coming months.
Messaging shift: The former president’s campaign is keenly aware of how polarizing its candidate remains. Advisers say that as Trump’s team quickly pivots toward a general election strategy, its focus will shift to broader concerns about immigration, the economy and crime.
His campaign has also used the early primary contests to test new strategies, including efforts to expand the electorate. In Iowa, his campaign pulled from eight years of data to identify people who had supported Trump but not caucused for him and then used volunteers to reach out to them.
Senior advisers to the former president told CNN they expect to implement the approach nationwide to combat some of the inevitable hurdles that Trump will face in the general election.
Maine’s top court won’t review Trump ballot eligibility for now
From Colin McCullough and Marshall Cohen
In this April 2018 photo, Justice Andrew M. Mead, third from right, asks a question during a hearing in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Portland, Maine. Robert F. Bukaty/AP/File
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court declined to weigh in on whether former President Donald Trump should be removed from the state’s ballot, rejecting a request that they decide the question now.
The ruling leaves in place a prior judge’s decision that froze the state-level proceedings until the US Supreme Court issues its ruling in a similar case from Colorado, which found that Trump is ineligible to hold public office based on the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban.” Oral arguments are scheduled in that case for February 8.
Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, had reached the same conclusion and barred Trump from the GOP primary ballot. Trump appealed in state court, and last week, a judge paused the proceedings and ordered Bellows to take action based on what the US Supreme Court says in the Colorado case.
Bellows appealed to Maine’s highest court last week, asking the justices to set the freeze aside and immediately decide whether Trump is disqualified from appearing on the ballot due to his role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection. But the high court unanimously declined to take up the appeal.
Remember: Maine is the second state to remove Trump’s name from the ballot, after Colorado’s Supreme Court declared Trump ineligible for the presidency using similar reasoning. Other judges and election officials across the country have dismissed related anti-Trump challenges on procedural grounds.
4 min ago
Trump-aligned super PAC sees spike in donations
From CNN's Kristen Holmes
A man holds a sign for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump before a campaign event at The North Charleston Coliseum on Wednesday in North Charleston, South Carolina. Sean Rayford/AP
The main super PAC supporting Donald Trump more than tripled the amount of money it brought in between the first half and the second half of the year, a source familiar with the fundraising told CNN.
MAGA, Inc., raised more than $46 million in the second half of 2023 – a spike from the $13 million it raised in the first half of last year.
Politico first reported the figures, which are expected to be released publicly next week.
The source confirmed that the super PAC has over $23 million cash on hand and received large donations of more than $1 million from more than a dozen donors.
The increase in donations comes as Trump appears on the path to winning the GOP nomination, after two decisive primary wins in Iowa and New Hampshire. Republicans have begun to coalesce around Trump, despite former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley continuing on in the race.
43 min ago
2 very different versions of Republican voters backed Trump in Iowa and New Hampshire
From CNN's Zachary B. Wolf, Renee Rigdon, Matt Stiles and Ethan Cohen
Two very different versions of American Republicans showed up at the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.
Trump has now won more than half the vote in Iowa, a state where the majority of Republican caucusgoers (61%) think most or all abortions should be banned nationwide, and also in New Hampshire, where more than two-thirds of Republican primary voters (67%) oppose such a ban.
In New Hampshire, only a little more than a third of Republican primary voters said they were part of the MAGA movement, referring to the “Make America Great Again” slogan that Trump popularized in 2016. In Iowa, it was nearly half of caucusgoers.
Also in Iowa, a third of Republicans don’t think he’d be fit for office if he’s convicted of a crime. In New Hampshire, 42% of primary voters feel that way.
Read more about these different voters. Turnout was down in Iowa but set a new record in New Hampshire.
1 hr 13 min ago
Trump is growing increasingly angry at Haley for sticking around in the race, sources say
From CNN's Alayna Treene
Former President Donald Trump has gone from viewing Nikki Haley as a primary rival to a full-blown enemy in the last 24 hours and has grown increasingly angry with her for declining to drop out of the race, sources close to the former president tell CNN.
"Before she was a gnat, now she is an enemy, and Trump plans to bludgeon her in the lead up to South Carolina,” a person who spoke with the former president following his victory in New Hampshire told CNN.
That approach is now extending to Haley's allies, Trump warned in a social media post Wednesday night.
"Nikki 'Birdbrain' Haley is very bad for the Republican Party and, indeed, our Country. Her False Statements, Derogatory Comments, and Humiliating Public Loss, is demeaning to True American Patriots," Trump posted just one day after his New Hampshire win. "Anybody that makes a 'Contribution' to Birdbrain, from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp. We don’t want them, and will not accept them, because we Put America First, and ALWAYS WILL!" he added.
Trump and his campaign had hopes that a win in New Hampshire would effectively end the GOP presidential primary, his advisers told CNN. They are eager to declare that the former president has become the presumptive Republican nominee as soon as possible and pivot their efforts toward a general election rematch with President Joe Biden.
1 hr 13 min ago
Biden and his team go on offensive with a Midwest swing centered on economy
From CNN's Arlette Saenz and Betsy Klein
As consumer sentiment improves — President Joe Biden and his team are going on the offensive.
His allies hope the changing sentiment will eventually translate into better feelings about the president's handling of the economy as he looks toward a rematch with former President Donald Trump.
Biden's focus on the economy will be on display today with a pair of events in the Midwest, starting with a trip to Superior, Wisconsin, where Biden will be armed with $1 billion in federal funding to replace an aging bridge in the battleground state.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to deliver a major speech in Chicago making the case for Biden’s economic vision, including a rare pushback on his predecessor’s approach.
The events come as Biden is gearing up for a general election fight with Trump, whom the president believes locked up the GOP nomination with his New Hampshire victory Tuesday.
Trump keeps marching forward: Donald Trump continues to advance toward securing the GOP presidential nomination for the third consecutive time after decisive wins in the Iowa and New Hampshire Republican primary contests.
Haley looks ahead to South Carolina: Nikki Haley insists she plans to stay in the GOP race and compete in South Carolina's February 24 primary. What’s not clear, though, is where Haley could notch a victory. She isn’t participating in the Nevada caucuses February 8 and polls show Trump has a big lead lead in South Carolina.
Biden prepares for possible Trump rematch: President Joe Biden's campaign has made clear it views the GOP primary race as all but over – and it's going full steam ahead to a general election match-up against Trump. Biden's team is set to go on offensive today with a pair of Midwest events focused on economy.
Trump juggles campaign and courtroom: Meanwhile,Trump will be back in court today for the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial against him and he could testify. He's made the multiple legal challenges he faces a key part of his campaign message.
The first two Republican presidential nominating contests have validated what has been apparent for nearly eight years: Donald Trump remains a singular, dominant force within his party.
But Iowa caucusgoers and New Hampshire primary voters also exposed noticeable chinks in Trump’s electoral armor and worrying general election headwinds that he and his campaign will face in the coming months.
Messaging shift: The former president’s campaign is keenly aware of how polarizing its candidate remains. Advisers say that as Trump’s team quickly pivots toward a general election strategy, its focus will shift to broader concerns about immigration, the economy and crime.
His campaign has also used the early primary contests to test new strategies, including efforts to expand the electorate. In Iowa, his campaign pulled from eight years of data to identify people who had supported Trump but not caucused for him and then used volunteers to reach out to them.
Senior advisers to the former president told CNN they expect to implement the approach nationwide to combat some of the inevitable hurdles that Trump will face in the general election.
In this April 2018 photo, Justice Andrew M. Mead, third from right, asks a question during a hearing in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Portland, Maine. Robert F. Bukaty/AP/File
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court declined to weigh in on whether former President Donald Trump should be removed from the state’s ballot, rejecting a request that they decide the question now.
The ruling leaves in place a prior judge’s decision that froze the state-level proceedings until the US Supreme Court issues its ruling in a similar case from Colorado, which found that Trump is ineligible to hold public office based on the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban.” Oral arguments are scheduled in that case for February 8.
Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, had reached the same conclusion and barred Trump from the GOP primary ballot. Trump appealed in state court, and last week, a judge paused the proceedings and ordered Bellows to take action based on what the US Supreme Court says in the Colorado case.
Bellows appealed to Maine’s highest court last week, asking the justices to set the freeze aside and immediately decide whether Trump is disqualified from appearing on the ballot due to his role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection. But the high court unanimously declined to take up the appeal.
Remember: Maine is the second state to remove Trump’s name from the ballot, after Colorado’s Supreme Court declared Trump ineligible for the presidency using similar reasoning. Other judges and election officials across the country have dismissed related anti-Trump challenges on procedural grounds.
A man holds a sign for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump before a campaign event at The North Charleston Coliseum on Wednesday in North Charleston, South Carolina. Sean Rayford/AP
The main super PAC supporting Donald Trump more than tripled the amount of money it brought in between the first half and the second half of the year, a source familiar with the fundraising told CNN.
MAGA, Inc., raised more than $46 million in the second half of 2023 – a spike from the $13 million it raised in the first half of last year.
Politico first reported the figures, which are expected to be released publicly next week.
The source confirmed that the super PAC has over $23 million cash on hand and received large donations of more than $1 million from more than a dozen donors.
The increase in donations comes as Trump appears on the path to winning the GOP nomination, after two decisive primary wins in Iowa and New Hampshire. Republicans have begun to coalesce around Trump, despite former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley continuing on in the race.
Two very different versions of American Republicans showed up at the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.
Trump has now won more than half the vote in Iowa, a state where the majority of Republican caucusgoers (61%) think most or all abortions should be banned nationwide, and also in New Hampshire, where more than two-thirds of Republican primary voters (67%) oppose such a ban.
In New Hampshire, only a little more than a third of Republican primary voters said they were part of the MAGA movement, referring to the “Make America Great Again” slogan that Trump popularized in 2016. In Iowa, it was nearly half of caucusgoers.
Also in Iowa, a third of Republicans don’t think he’d be fit for office if he’s convicted of a crime. In New Hampshire, 42% of primary voters feel that way.
Read more about these different voters. Turnout was down in Iowa but set a new record in New Hampshire.
Former President Donald Trump has gone from viewing Nikki Haley as a primary rival to a full-blown enemy in the last 24 hours and has grown increasingly angry with her for declining to drop out of the race, sources close to the former president tell CNN.
"Before she was a gnat, now she is an enemy, and Trump plans to bludgeon her in the lead up to South Carolina,” a person who spoke with the former president following his victory in New Hampshire told CNN.
That approach is now extending to Haley's allies, Trump warned in a social media post Wednesday night.
"Nikki 'Birdbrain' Haley is very bad for the Republican Party and, indeed, our Country. Her False Statements, Derogatory Comments, and Humiliating Public Loss, is demeaning to True American Patriots," Trump posted just one day after his New Hampshire win. "Anybody that makes a 'Contribution' to Birdbrain, from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp. We don’t want them, and will not accept them, because we Put America First, and ALWAYS WILL!" he added.
Trump and his campaign had hopes that a win in New Hampshire would effectively end the GOP presidential primary, his advisers told CNN. They are eager to declare that the former president has become the presumptive Republican nominee as soon as possible and pivot their efforts toward a general election rematch with President Joe Biden.
As consumer sentiment improves — President Joe Biden and his team are going on the offensive.
His allies hope the changing sentiment will eventually translate into better feelings about the president's handling of the economy as he looks toward a rematch with former President Donald Trump.
Biden's focus on the economy will be on display today with a pair of events in the Midwest, starting with a trip to Superior, Wisconsin, where Biden will be armed with $1 billion in federal funding to replace an aging bridge in the battleground state.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to deliver a major speech in Chicago making the case for Biden’s economic vision, including a rare pushback on his predecessor’s approach.
The events come as Biden is gearing up for a general election fight with Trump, whom the president believes locked up the GOP nomination with his New Hampshire victory Tuesday.
