Well, that didn’t take long.
Democrats in Iowa, using a voting app ordered by the Iowa Democratic Party and designed by Democrats, failed in spectacular fashion on Monday to conduct the first-in-the-nation caucuses to ultimately decide the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee.
But wait. The Democrats aren’t to blame. Apparently, President Trump is.
“It might be helpful to have a President and government that understand technology so this sort of thing doesn’t happen,” candidate Andrew Yang wrote on Twitter.
It might be helpful to have a President and government that understand technology so this sort of thing doesn’t happen.
— Andrew Yang🧢 (@AndrewYang) February 4, 2020
Yang, 45, made his fortune in the tech industry. But he didn’t explain how Trump perhaps better understanding technology would have prevented the debacle in Iowa.
In a statement early Tuesday, the Iowa Democratic Party blamed a “coding issue in the reporting system” for the problems, the Associated Press reported. “The problem kept party officials from releasing results from Monday’s caucus, the much-hyped kickoff to the 2020 primary. It was an embarrassing twist after months of promoting the contest as a chance for Democrats to find some clarity in a jumbled field with no clear front-runner.”
Top Trump officials also said there was no external influence on the app. “No one hacked into it, so this is more of a stress or load issue, as well as a reporting issue we’re seeing in Iowa,” said acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf in an interview with Fox on Tuesday morning.
Conspiracy theories abound, including one in which Democrats are trying to shut down Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the socialist from Vermont who increasingly found himself atop the polls in Iowa.
Wrote Eoin Higgins, a senior editor for Common Dreams: “Iowa Democratic Party uses secretive app for caucus reporting — App stops working a few hours before caucus begins — Results trickle in but show dominating performance for Sanders, death knell for Biden camp — Counting now shut down by DNC for ‘quality control.’ I have that right?”
-Iowa Democratic Party uses secretive app for caucus reporting
-App stops working a few hours before caucus begins
-Results trickle in but show dominating performance for Sanders, death knell for Biden camp
-Counting now shut down by DNC for "quality control"I have that right?
— Eoin Higgins (@EoinHiggins_) February 4, 2020
For his part, Trump put the blame squarely on Democrats in Iowa.
“The Democrat Party in Iowa really messed up, but the Republican Party did not. I had the largest re-election vote in the history of that great state, by far, beating President Obama’s previous record by a lot. Also, 97% Plus of the vote! Thank you Iowa!” Trump wrote first thing in the morning.
The Democrat Party in Iowa really messed up, but the Republican Party did not. I had the largest re-election vote in the history of that great state, by far, beating President Obama’s previous record by a lot. Also, 97% Plus of the vote! Thank you Iowa!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2020
And Trump said: “The Democrat Caucus is an unmitigated disaster. Nothing works, just like they ran the Country. Remember the 5 Billion Dollar Obamacare Website, that should have cost 2% of that. The only person that can claim a very big victory in Iowa last night is ‘Trump.'”
The Democrat Caucus is an unmitigated disaster. Nothing works, just like they ran the Country. Remember the 5 Billion Dollar Obamacare Website, that should have cost 2% of that. The only person that can claim a very big victory in Iowa last night is “Trump”.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2020
Twitter users had a field day with Yang’s post.
“You want President Trump to step in and fix this mess for the Dem party? I’m sure he’d love to be asked,” wrote one user.
You want President Trump to step in and fix this mess for the Dem party? I'm sure he'd love to be asked.
— Michael (@MkHmmr) February 4, 2020
“It might be helpful to have a President who understands the President doesnt have anything to do with that,” wrote another.
It might be helpful to have a President who understands the President doesnt have anything to do with that.
— Dusty (@dustopian) February 4, 2020
“Yes, Republicans did not have any issue. The democrats ran their caucus and simply messed it up every single step of the way. Worse it will be suspect even after they eventually get some results. Democrats have a plan, unfortunately it is a disaster,” wrote a third.
Yes, Republicans did not have any issue. The democrats ran their caucus and simply messed it up every single step of the way.
Worse it will be suspect even after they eventually get some results.Democrats have a plan, unfortunately it is a disaster.
— politically_matt (@MattPolitically) February 4, 2020
And a fourth summed it all up. “The President doesn’t get to run the caucus, dumbass. Might be helpful to have a president who understands how elections work or what states or political parties are.”
The President doesn’t get to run the caucus, dumbass. Might be helpful to have a president who understands how elections work or what states or political parties are.
— Ali (@ali) February 4, 2020