Donald Trump on Monday night either forgot or lied about how many times he has won the Iowa caucuses.
“This is the third time we’ve won, but this is the biggest win,” Trump said during his victory speech in Des Moines.
It was in reality the second time, and, based on vote numbers, not the biggest.
That would’ve been in 2020, when he seeking reelection as president and trounced former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, who picked up just 1.3% of the vote in his quixotic campaign for the nomination.
In 2016, Trump lost in Iowa, coming in second place behind Senator Ted Cruz.
Trump blamed “fraud” and demanded “a new election” in a 2016 tweet that remains online.
No evidence of fraud surfaced.
Cruz said at the time that Trump’s claim showed he was “losing it,” adding that it was more proof Trump didn’t have the judgment or temperament for the presidency.
“I don’t know anyone who would be comfortable with someone who behaves this way having his finger on the button,” Cruz said at the time, according to Politico. “I mean, we’re liable to wake up one morning and Donald, if he were president, would have nuked Denmark.”
Cruz would ultimately endorse Trump and become one of his biggest enablers in Congress. Cruz, ironically, also helped pushed Trump’s evidence-free claims of election fraud after the 2020 presidential election.