“The reality is, if Mrs. Clinton loses Iowa and New Hampshire, that could create new and real problems for her here.”
— Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), quoted by the New York Times, issuing a warning to the Clinton campaign about South Carolina.
No One Has Ted Cruz’s Back
Peggy Noonan: “It matters what people think of you. It’s important that people have a high opinion of your essential integrity, trustworthiness and good faith. It matters that they like you. Mr. Cruz, when challenged by Mr. Trump, could have used some backup from prominent Republicans, but they didn’t throw him a lifeline.”
“You know why Mr. Cruz had no backup? Because almost no one who works with him likes him. They haven’t experienced him as a trustworthy person of good faith. They waited, as people do, for a chance to hurt him, and when they got it they did.”
Trump’s Attacks Just Sting More
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Part of Donald Trump’s appeal is his amazing ability to attack his rivals. With just two words — “low energy” — he destroyed Jeb Bush’s candidacy and rendered his $100+ million campaign war chest useless.
Four other candidates who tried to attack Trump — Lindsey Graham, Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal and George Pataki — could never recover after the billionaire real estate developer returned fire. All four eventually dropped out of the race while barely registering in the national polls.
Trump has a knack for how to go after a rival. But his attacks are also amplified by the media coverage they attract. Every attack on his rivals literally gets millions of dollars of free promotion. He doesn’t need to spend any money on negative ads.
This is probably why Trump’s remaining rivals are not even trying to run negative ads against him.
But with his bromance with Ted Cruz is over, Trump may finally has a more evenly matched fight. It’s not that Cruz is a more effective attack dog — though he is pretty good — it’s that the media will be covering Cruz’s attacks as much as Trump’s.
The two weeks before the Iowa caucuses are going to get ugly.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“If Bernie Sanders gets elected president, I’m fleeing. I’m going to Ireland, and they already know it.”
— Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, quoted by The Hill.
Cruz Taunts Trump Over Poll Numbers
“Hours before Ted Cruz and Donald Trump were slated to appear here at a tea party gathering, Cruz unloaded on Trump, taunting him over his poll numbers and ratcheting up attacks on his conservative credibility,” Politico reports.
Said Cruz: “It seems Donald has a lot of nervous energy. It seems for whatever reason Donald doesn’t react well when he’s going down in the polls. I imagine he’s very dismayed by the latest Wall Street Journal-NBC poll that shows in a head-to-head…he’d lose to me. Knowing Donald, that’s got to drive him nuts.”
Clinton Allies Say She Underestimated Sanders
“Advisers to Hillary Clinton, including former President Bill Clinton, believe that her campaign made serious miscalculations by forgoing early attacks on Sen. Bernie Sanders and failing to undercut his archliberal message before it grew into a political movement that has now put him within striking distance of beating Mrs. Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire,” the New York Times reports.
“According to Democrats close to the Clintons and involved with her campaign, Mrs. Clinton and the former president are also unnerved by the possibility that Mr. Sanders will foment a large wave of first-time voters and liberals that will derail her in Iowa, not unlike Barack Obama’s success in 2008, which consigned Mrs. Clinton to a third-place finish.”
Iran Complies with Nuclear Deal
“International inspectors confirmed Saturday that Iran had dismantled large sections of its nuclear program, as agreed in a historic accord last summer, paving the way for the lifting of oil and financial sanctions by the United States and other world powers,” the New York Times reports.
“The announcement came just hours after Iran said it had released four Americans, including The Washington Post reporter, Jason Rezaian, as part of a prisoner swap with the United States. American officials said the two deals were negotiated separately, but Secretary of State John Kerry had made it clear in recent weeks that he was engaged in behind-the-scenes talks on the fate of the Americans, and clearly wanted the issue cleared up before the nuclear agreement went into effect.”
It’s Trump’s Race to Lose
Matthew Continetti: “The Fox Business debate made clear that the Republican primary is Donald Trump’s race to lose. It’s not only that Trump continues his months-long polling lead and the debate won’t do anything to change that. It’s that Trump’s considerable political skills were on display Thursday evening. Provocative, gauche, funny, emphatic, and fearless, Trump doesn’t back down when the crowd boos him, he holds his own against more polished opponents, and he has identified and exploited the anger of many Republican and independent voters.”
“But Trump has done something more. He’s become the focal point of the 2016 campaign in a way no other candidate of either party has. Fair or not, it’s Trump’s statements and policy declarations that become fodder for debate questions and force his GOP rivals to respond or adjust.”
Quote of the Day
“We shouldn’t have to swap prisoners. These Americans were taken illegally in violation of international law and they should have been released without condition, but you know, the Iranians have treated this president with disrespect for years and he continues to take it. I would not take it as president.”
— Gov. Chris Christie, quoted by the Washington Post.
Many Republicans Resigned to Trump vs. Cruz
“As the presidential primary race moves into a more urgent and combative phase, there is growing acceptance among Republicans, including the Washington and financial elite, that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are the two candidates most likely to become the party’s nominee,” the Washington Post reports.
“Their commanding performances at the sixth debate — along with their continued dominance in national and early state polls — have solidified the conclusion of many Republicans that the campaign is becoming a two-person contest.”
Flashback Quote of the Day
”I support Planned Parenthood privately with my personal contribution and that should be the goal of any such agency, to find private donations… It’s also no secret that I am pro-choice.”
— Gov. Chris Christie, quoted by the Newark Star Ledger in 1994.
Politico: Christie in damage control mode over past talk of Planned Parenthood
Why Isn’t Anyone Trying to Take Down Trump?
Tim Alberta of the National Review reports that there are no attacks ads currently running against Donald Trump in the early primary states.
Nate Silver: “There are a lot of reasons for this — including, paradoxically, both resignation to the idea of Trump as the nominee, and conversely, a belief that Trump’s support in national polls won’t translate into winning margins in Iowa and other early voting states. But there’s another dimension to the problem too. It should have been perfectly obvious, but it became clearer to me after spending the past week in Iowa: The campaigns competing against Trump are acting in their own narrow best interests, and not necessarily in the best interest of the Republican Party.”
Trump Quote of the Day
“Ted Cruz was born in Canada and was a Canadian citizen until 15 months ago. Lawsuits have just been filed with more to follow. I told you so.”
— Donald Trump, in a tweet this morning.
GOP Debate Was Least Watched of the Cycle
This week’s Republican primary debate “averaged 11 million total viewers, making it the least watched GOP debate this election cycle… The ‘undercard’ debate at 6 PM averaged two million total viewers,” Politico reports.
Taiwan Elects First Female President
“Opposition candidate Tsai Ing-wen won a landslide victory in Taiwan’s presidential election, making her the democracy’s first female president and setting back Beijing’s ambitions to reunify the island with the mainland,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Cruz Plots New Attacks on Trump
“The Ted Cruz who came out swinging at Donald Trump on Thursday night is here to stay, now willing to not only answer Trump’s criticisms but to eagerly define his rival’s weaknesses as the 2016 race in Iowa becomes a two-man contest,” Politico reports.
“It’s a dramatic shift for Cruz, who until this week either ignored or laughed off Trump’s occasional swipes… Indeed, Cruz’s staffers and backers indicated that while Cruz has until now publicly laid off Trump, his team has long been watching closely and waiting for the right time to pounce.”
The Hill: Cruz doubles down on New York attack.
Republicans Desperately Seek Alternative
New York Times: “With Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz finally now engaged in an open feud for the most disillusioned voters, Sen. Marco Rubio, Gov. Chris Christie and Jeb Bush were battling to win over a group of more traditional Republicans who are showing little sign of coalescing around any single candidate.”
“The jockeying to become that alternative came a day after a Republican debate in which simmering tensions between Mr. Cruz and Mr. Trump exploded, opening up the harshest and most antagonistic phase of the Republican presidential race yet.”
Wall Street Journal: “The acrimony from the previous night’s Republican primary debate spilled into another day of backbiting on the campaign trail Friday as home-state rivals Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio traded their harshest insults so far in the primary.”
Los Angeles Times: Is it too late to stop Trump?
Trump Begins to Show More Polish
New York Times: “Until now, Donald Trump’s campaign has broken all the rules, eschewing rope lines, diner visits and decorum in favor of one-hour rallies, Twitter commentary and one provocation after another. But now, as some polls have tightened and voting nears, Mr. Trump is, very gingerly, starting to balance his unique style with running ‘the Iowa way’ and ‘the New Hampshire way,’ letting his unconventional instincts accommodate certain conventions.”
Washington Post: “Though still unorthodox, the GOP front-runner seemed to be making an effort to seriously explain why his controversial stances are resonating with supporters.”
