Donald Trump did much worse in the Iowa caucus than polls predicted, losing by 4 points to Ted Cruz and barely beating Marco Rubio. And conservative pundits, who were never very fond of Trump, are ecstatic.
Here's a few reactions:
TRUMP HAD A CEILING HE ALWAYS HAD A CEILING I TOLD YOU HE HAD A CEILING I TOLD YOU I TOLD YOU I TOLD YOU YOU LAUGHED BUT I TOLD YOU
— Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) February 2, 2016
Looks like Trump will need to learn how to say congratulations in Canadian.
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) February 2, 2016
This is sort of what Trump gets for the whole 2 Corinthians thing pic.twitter.com/h2d09zi7WW
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 2, 2016
If Trump comes third tonight, this is me: https://t.co/2sM0Tk9WoJ
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) February 2, 2016
BREAKING: shameless panderer with a taste for scurrilous, underhanded attacks LOSES IOWA!
— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) February 2, 2016
The schadenfreude comes after a very long effort to tear down Trump, culminating in a big cover by the conservative magazine National Review, which Lowry is the editor of.
But it might not be time to count out Trump just yet. He's still ahead in the polls in the next few states to vote, including New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. Of course, having lost to Cruz and barely beating Rubio in a state where he was projected to get first, it's possible that his opponents could get a significant boost and ultimately defeat him.