The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s Iowa victory: a warning of what is at risk in US elections | Editorial

A cult of personality has ensured that believers are blinded to the means employed by the former president to take power

Before voters in Iowa kicked off the US presidential election cycle on Monday, Donald Trump shared a bizarre campaign video on his Truth Social platform that declared him to be God's chosen emissary on Earth, sent to deliver prosperity to America. It seemed unlikely that evangelicals in a rural state would buy into such narcissism. Sadly, Mr Trump has blinded believers to the means and fixed their gaze on the ends. Despite being charged with 91 felonies in four criminal cases, he won an unprecedented majority of Republican caucus-goers.

The rest of the Republican electorate doesn't always follow Iowa's lead. This, however, is a small comfort. In 2016, Mr Trump lost out to Ted Cruz in the state before winning his party's nomination with a mendacious, racist, misogynistic campaign that encouraged violence and dealt in the politics of personal insult. Hisspell in office did not mellow him. His 2024 campaign picked up where his last one ended - by brazenly attempting to use his efforts to overturn the2020 election result as a rallying cry.

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