When I heard that Donald Trump was skipping the last debate my heart skipped a beat with joy. I couldn’t believe it. Was this a gift? Was this some master plan of Trump? Or was he truly letting his wounded pride get in the way of winning?
I thought, “He’s got to be nuts to let these guys get all the face-time without him there to respond.”
In the end it turned out to be a test for Trump. He lost Iowa because he lost his temper. He defeated himself by caving into his giant ego. He betrayed the people he claims to want to serve, and served himself. Even Trump admits today it was a miscalculation to skip the Iowa debate.
Now we know that the difference between first and second place is only one delegate (7/8), but had he defeated Cruz, he may have cruised to victory. By coming in second, he showed he is not invincible. He thought he could shoot someone on 5th avenue and still win (his words, not mine). Maybe … but by disrespecting Iowan voters (by not debating in Iowa), he lost the momentum and gave it to the third place Rubio.
And the more folks drop out, the more Rubio will rise because he is winning the polls on people’s second choice. So as Carson, Christie, Bush, Paul and Kasich follow the lead of Huckabee and pack it in, the majority of those votes will go to Rubio, then Cruz and maybe some crumbs for Donald.
So in the end, it wasn’t calling Mexicans rapists, talking about Megyn Kelly and blood, saying McCain was no hero (because Trump likes guys who don’t get caught) that tripped up Trump. In the end, it was Trump who defeated Trump.
(Note: This is not an endorsement of Rubio, but merely analysis.) {eoa}
Ron Cantor is the lead pastor of Tiferet Yeshua congregation in Tel Aviv, a Hebrew-speaking outreach to Israelis. He is also the author of Identity Theft, Leave me Alone—I’m Jewish and his newest book coming out this spring, The Jerusalem Secret, a novel about the first Jewish believers. Ron blogs at messiahsmandate.org.
