How 'feral genius' Trump clawed his way back from political obscurity: report

Donald Trump consolidated his grip on the Republican Party with a strong showing in Iowa, but there was a time not long ago when many could convince themselves his political career was over.

The twice-impeached former president slunk off to Florida after the startling violence on Jan. 6, 2021, was largely absent from the airwaves on Fox News and his Truth Social posts rarely penetrated into popular consciousness, but his hold on GOP voters seemed to grow as his criminal charges piled up, wrote Maggie Haberman and Matt Flegenheimer of the New York Times.

“Very few Democrats — apart from the deeply paranoid or intuitive — would have told you in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection that Trump would be the Republican nominee again in 2024,” said David Axelrod, a former top adviser to President Barack Obama. “Once again, his feral genius for shaping a story of victimhood and commanding his base was underestimated.”

Trump barely campaigned in Iowa in comparison to his vanquished rivals, and a win next week in New Hampshire would make his GOP nomination all but inevitable, but his trial on federal election interference charges starting in March could complicate matters for securing a possible second term.

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“The overwhelming majority of Americans are aware of Trump’s legal troubles, and a significant number say that a conviction would have some bearing on their vote,” said GOP strategist Liam Donovan. “But absent the spectacle of a pre-election trial and adjudication, it’s not clear that awareness is enough in an environment where the former president polls stronger than either of his previous elections.”