Just under three years after leaving office, former President Donald Trump has taken the first step in his potential return to the White House with a resounding win in the Iowa caucuses, NBC News swiftly projected Monday evening. As predicted in poll after poll leading up to the caucuses, Trump left his nearest rivals in the dust with his speedy victory, besting former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and obliterating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
This time around, there’s no question about who Trump is or what he wants.
Despite its legendary status in America’s political culture, the Iowa caucuses have a less than stellar track record when it comes to picking presidential nominees. But since the emergence of the modern presidential primary system, there’s never been a race like this year’s. Trump didn’t just win in Iowa; he won massively, likely shattering the record for margin of victory. It is a landslide that serves as an endorsement of the constant drumbeat for vengeance that Trump has made the centerpiece of his campaign.
During Trump’s first presidential run in 2016, by the time he reached Iowa it was clear that he would be a major player, but it wasn’t obvious that the nomination would eventually be his. He came in second, losing out to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas by just over 3 points. (Trump later accused Cruz of winning via “fraud,” beginning a pattern that would continue through the 2020 election and to the present day.) Back then, there were still plenty of questions about what Trump would actually hope to achieve if he were to win the nomination, let alone the presidency, and plenty of doubt that he even wanted the job to begin with.
This time around, there’s no question about who Trump is or what he wants, having made transparent his plans for revenge against those he felt have wronged him in his 2020 loss and the string of criminal prosecutions he now faces. He is, as The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman has accurately described him, “among…
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