Getty Ron DeSantis.
A campaign official for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is slamming the media’s early call for former President Donald Trump in the Iowa caucus vote on January 15.
DeSantis’s Communications Director Andrew Romeo wrote on X, “Absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote. The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet.”
His tweet, which came at 7:51 p.m., quickly generated almost 800,000 impressions on X within less than 1.5 hours. Bryan Griffin, DeSantis’s Press Secretary, wrote on X, “At the site where @RonDeSantis was speaking in Dubuque, people were still waiting to be checked in when the media started making calls. No one had even voted. It’s extremely disrespectful to the voters.”
According to the Associated Press, the Iowa caucuses started at 7 p.m. central time. “The race call came exceptionally quick — just about 30 minutes after they started,” NPR reported. “The margin of victory is still unknown as results continue to come in.” The AP and multiple news outlets, including CNN, quickly called the race for Trump.
Others joined in the criticism. “The media calling the caucuses 30 minutes after they start is highly irresponsible,” wrote Trump’s former press secretary, Sean Spicer, on X.
Here’s what you need to know:
How the Associated Press & CNN Say They Called Donald Trump as the Winner of the Iowa Caucuses
Absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote. The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet.
CNN explained that it projected Trump as the winner based on its entrance poll and “some initial votes.”
“We can now make a very important projection,” CNN anchor Jake Tapper said on the air. “CNN projects that Donald Trump will win the Iowa caucuses. CNN can make this projection based on his overwhelming lead in our entrance poll of Iowa caucus goers and some initial votes that are coming in.” Trump was “easily defeating” Nikki Haley and DeSantis, Tapper said on air.
The calls came about 30 minutes after the caucus started. At 9:30 p.m. central time, CNN was still reporting that only 51% of the results were in, with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley competing with DeSantis for second place.
BREAKING: CNN projects that Donald Trump will win the Iowa Republican caucuses just 30 minutes after the voting started.
Well that was fast.
CNN host Jake Tapper said he believes this was the fasted projection they have ever made.
“We can now make a very important projection.…
In its story, the AP explained how it made the call.
“The AP declared Trump the winner based on an analysis of early returns as well as the results of AP VoteCast, a survey of voters,” the AP wrote.
The AP directed readers to a lengthy explanation of how the wire service calculates votes on election day.
“Instead of relying on crowd-sourcing or vulnerable technology, our 50-state network of local reporters have first-hand knowledge of their territories and trusted relationships with county clerks and other local officials. These stringers collect votes at a local level,” the AP reported. “We also gather results from state or county websites and electronic data feeds from states.”
An Associated Press FAQ on Elections Says the AP ‘Will Not Call the Winner of a Race’ Before All the Polls Are Scheduled to Close
GettyDonald Trump
An FAQ by the AP says the AP will not call races until the polls close.
“Not all races are closely contested. In some states, a party or candidate’s history of consistent and convincing wins – by a wide margin – make a race eligible to be declared as soon as polls close. In these states, we use results from AP VoteCast to confirm a candidate has won,” it reads.
“To be sure, AP will not call the winner of a race before all the polls in a jurisdiction are scheduled to close. And we remain committed to using results from AP VoteCast with great care and caution, applying the same standard of absolute assurance to a race call made at poll close as we do all others,” it says.
The early call caused some controversy on social media.
How the hell do you call the race with less than 1% in an people still voting? How is that even legal??
I spoke before approx 400 Iowans today at a caucus site and DeSantis won. However, they were getting news alerts of a “trump victory” before speeches concluded or voting began.
The media wants to taint this process and it’s sad for America.
Wake up everyone.
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