Biden got 81 million, Trump got 74 million.

A few points here (from a pro-Republican website!): https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/dominant-but-vulnerable 

[Monday’s] caucuses saw just over 110,000 Republicans turn out to vote. In 2016, that number was nearly 187,000, around 70 percent higher. Some voters stayed home because of the cold snap, of course—it was 30 degrees [Fahrenheit] below freezing in Iowa last night—notwithstanding Trump’s invitation to them to take their lives into their own hands.

But registering only around three votes for every five votes cast the last time there was an “open” primary suggests there could be a real enthusiasm problem among GOP voters. And in addition to this year’s low turnout, consider the fact that Trump, a quasi-incumbent with greater name recognition than anyone alive, earned the votes of just over half of the state’s caucusgoers—the most committed members of Iowa’s GOP.

Let’s break it down even further:

* Only about 14-15% of GOP voters showed up; which means that Trump’s landslide total comprised about 8 percent of Iowa Republicans.

* A substantial number of Republican voters are signaling that they are Never Trump. NBC reports that nearly half of Haley’s Iowa backers say they’d vote for Biden over Trump. As Mona Charen noted yesterday the pre-caucus poll by the Des Moine Register found that fully 25 percent of Iowa Republican caucus-goers say they won’t vote for Trump in November.

Batman:

 

Wait... He actually got more votes than Biden? Someone help me with my math!

 

How do you figure that? Biden got around 81 million votes.

The New Republic - Judge Unleashes on Trump’s Lawyer in Testy Exchange During Carroll Case

Alina Habba keeps making things worse for Donald Trump in the E. Jean Carroll case.

 

The second day of Donald Trump’s defamation trial against E. Jean Carroll was off to a very bad start on Wednesday, and not just for the former president. One of his lawyers managed to anger the presiding judge before testimony even began - and several times after that. ...

 

Habba’s combative approach is not playing out well for her or for Trump. Kaplan has already made clear he intends to suffer no foolishness from Trump during this trial process, repeatedly denying the former president’s requests to delay the case and barring him from attacking Carroll (not that that has stopped Trump). ...

 

Things did not improve after Carroll took the stand. The writer began to testify about the defamatory comments Trump has made about her and how they prompted a deluge of insults and death threats from his supporters. Habba repeatedly objected to things that Carroll said, and Kaplan overruled her nearly every time. ...

 

Habba seems to have a habit of undermining Trump’s lawsuits. ...

 

"You can't get good help these days."   🙄

I suspect she's taking her cues from Trump, who is finding that what he does/says online (or on the street) is quite different to what happens inside a courtroom.

Alina Habba keeps making things worse for Donald Trump in the E. Jean Carroll case.

 

The second day of Donald Trump’s defamation trial against E. Jean Carroll was off to a very bad start on Wednesday, and not just for the former president. One of his lawyers managed to anger the presiding judge before testimony even began - and several times after that. ...

 

Habba’s combative approach is not playing out well for her or for Trump. Kaplan has already made clear he intends to suffer no foolishness from Trump during this trial process, repeatedly denying the former president’s requests to delay the case and barring him from attacking Carroll (not that that has stopped Trump). ...

 

Things did not improve after Carroll took the stand. The writer began to testify about the defamatory comments Trump has made about her and how they prompted a deluge of insults and death threats from his supporters. Habba repeatedly objected to things that Carroll said, and Kaplan overruled her nearly every time. ...

 

Habba seems to have a habit of undermining Trump’s lawsuits. ...

"You can't get good help these days."   🙄

That's because you have to PAY for it ❗️

Trump believes the courtroom drama just raises his profile as a freedom fighter, with the Sovcit like Trumplicans.

Evangelicals also carry a persecution complex they want their Caliphate, so goes down well with them.
SovCit Libertarians love it too, just look at Vivek trying to woo the Libertarian crowd with Peter Theal, and Musk backing.
Echoing Trump, and Trump gave him a shoutout as liking him as unlikely to challenge him for Evangelicals.
Bringing more Libertarians into same arguments Trump makes so eventually to him.

Trump wants to look like he is being victimized, it goes down well with his crowd.
Trying to wind up Judge.
Influence any Trump sympathizers that made it into Jury, and intimidate Jury, get his followers to attack and dox them.

He probably also has a number of delaying objections and appeals to higher courts ready based on how 'unfair' it was.

Any delays that take things to after election he thinks he can win, he needs to win to stay out of jail.
Once President he can pardon and do many other things as GOP will bend to his every whim.

Luke Zaleski, Legal Affairs Editor for Condé Nast, has delivered a (possibly tongue-in-cheek) take on MAGA’s alternate reality:

Psychiatrists call it "flight of ideas".

• The fact that Trump suggested Cruz’s father was in cahoots with the man who killed John F. Kennedy, saying, “His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald’s being—you know, shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous. What is this, right prior to his being shot, and nobody even brings it up. They don’t even talk about that. That was reported, and nobody talks about it. But I think it’s horrible. I mean, what was he doing—what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death? Before the shooting? It’s horrible.”
  
  
• The fact that Trump threatened to “spill the beans” about Cruz’s wife, Heidi Cruz
  
  
• The fact that Trump implied Heidi Cruz was ugly

Batman: Wait... He actually got more votes than Biden? Someone help me with my math!

kingdragonfly: Vanity Fair: Ted Cruz “enthusiastically” endorses Trump, the guy who called his wife ugly and suggested his father was in cahoots with JFK’s assassin

Many people in Washington have no shame and zero dignity. One person who demonstrates this on a near-daily basis? Senator Ted Cruz.

The lawmaker from Texas again proved that he is perfectly happy to debase himself for sport when he endorsed Donald Trump for president last night, writing on X,

“I am proud to endorse Donald J. Trump for President. Now is the time for us to unite to oust Joe Biden and save our country from the Democrats’ destructive agenda.”

In an interview with Sean Hannity, Cruz spoke about his endorsement of of Trump, saying, “I look forward to supporting him enthusiastically.’...

Being devoid of the slightest amount of political ambition, it never fails to amaze me the lengths men will go to seek and obtain power, especially when that process involves licking, with obvious relish, the bums and boots of people they wouldn't waste their piss on under normal circumstances.  

What geekIT said, though MTG etc would say it's not just the men.

Meanwhile Ramaswamy pledges fealty to Trump,
I suppose his libertarian supporters Peter Thiel/Musk go with him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lip9scRq0Xk

Though apparently in Iowa he and his family got questions about where exactly he and his parents were born.
Did they not think he could be American, he does not look like us.

Posted on Truth Social last night:

Note the "events that cross the line" reference.

Who wrote this? - the grammar and vocabulary are remarkably good by Trump standards.

It would be a terrible irony if the SCOTUS agrees and says a President has total immunity while in office, and Biden sends a team to remove Trump.