Commentators on MSNBC discussing former President Donald Trump’s victory in the Iowa caucuses cited a variety of factors that helped Trump on Monday night, including Christian nationalism and “authoritarianism.”
Rachel Maddow, a commentator and host of a show on the network, stated that those who are concerned about authoritarianism overtaking the United States should be concerned not just about the leader of such a movement, but also the leader’s followers and supporters. Maddow also suggested that those who support an authoritarian leader are a bigger problem than the leader himself.
“But once you have radicalized one major party so that those are the preferences of the people who adhere to your party, the leader’s interchangeable,” Maddow said on Monday night.
Fellow MSNBC host Joy Reid suggested that a majority of Iowa’s population being white Christians was a factor in Trump’s victory. Reid described this as “Christian nationalism,” and that such voters are what the Democratic Party will face in the 2024 presidential election.
“These are people, to Robert Jones again from PRRI, who does these numbers, they believe that God has promised them, specifically white evangelical Christians, of a certain mindset that they own this country, that immigrants, that brown people, that Hindus like Vivek Ramaswamy and his wife are illegitimate Americans,” Reid said. “They are less legitimate Americans than they are.”
On Tuesday, former MSNBC host Chris Matthews forewarned that those who voted for Trump in the Iowa caucuses would “enjoy the tyranny” that the former president could bring should he return to the White House in 2025.
“And I think we’ve got to start thinking about not how people are polling, but what their attitude is when they poll,” Matthews said. “And I know they don’t like the government, they don’t like the big shots, they don’t like the elite and all that. But do they really want this guy to control their lives?”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Trump won over 51% of caucusgoers and 20 delegates in the Iowa caucuses, with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) coming in second at 21.2% and eight delegates. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley finished third with 19.1% and seven delegates.
New polling data have suggested that more people believe Trump could beat President Joe Biden in a hypothetical matchup in November, with 44% believing Trump could win and 35% believing Biden could win. Support among those polled was split down the middle, with both candidates getting 43% support.
