Brazile on Trump topping Iowa caucus: ‘It’s his to win’

Former Democratic Party chair Donna Brazile praised former President Trump on Sunday, eyeing his chances at an Iowa caucus victory on Monday.

Trump has performed strongly in GOP primary polling in Iowa, where rivals Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley hope extreme weather can depress turnout for the former president.

“The word on the street is that Donald Trump learned the lesson from 2016 when he lost the caucuses to Ted Cruz,” Brazile said in an ABC News interview. ”He learned early on that this was an organizing event, and while he has had lots of rallies, he used those rallies to really focus on his base.”

She said the organizing effort increases his odds of a strong caucus performance.

“If this is an organizing event, he can get his people to the caucus,” she said. “He can improve turnout.”

Brazile noted that the emphasis on organizing a base is what the current Democratic establishment lacks in many states that have leaned red since she was a senior party leader during the 2008 and 2012 election cycles, including Iowa.

“When you abandon a state, whether it's Iowa or Louisiana, then you let the Republicans in,” she said. “We've abandoned too many states trying to focus on winning the battleground, and not looking at the future trends.” 

“[Iowa is] much redder than it was when Barack Obama won the state, but you know what? At the end of the day, it is a ground game, and if you have the wherewithal to get your people to those caucuses, it's his to win,” she added.

As for Democrats, Brazile encouraged her party’s current leadership to get back to the basics to ensure a 2024 victory.

“I think Democrats have to focus on the ground game,” she continued. “They've got to stop worrying about how much money they have in the bank, which is a lot, and focus really on reaching people where they are.”