Presidents who lose their first term in office hardly ever go on to run strong primary campaigns again, much less win landslides that show their party’s absolute supremacy. In 2016, Trump’s populist, nationalist, and nihilistic persona revolutionized the Republican Party. Eight years after his upset success in the 2016 presidential election, he demonstrated that the current GOP is fully his party by taking 50% of the vote in the largest victory in the history of the caucuses and setting himself up for his third straight nomination.
“The big night is going to be in November, when we take back our country,” Trump declared during his first official victory celebration following his stunning upset victory in the 2016 presidential election. The MAGA-hat-wearing audience greeted him behind two enormous screens that said “Trump wins Iowa!” with cries of “Trump, Trump, Trump.”
