Iowa Exposes Trump's Brand Problem

SAN DIEGO -- How do you say "poetic justice" in Spanish?

You got me. The nativists who nest in both parties are wrong that Latinos aren't learning English. More often, by the third generation, we've lost Spanish.

This part needs no translation: Donald Trump, who launched his presidential bid nearly eight months ago with a Mexican-bashing screed that united Latinos and generated anger throughout Latin America, limped out of Iowa this week after being roughed up by a couple of Cuban-Americans.

Political analysts say it's likely that Marco Rubio, who came in third with 23 percent of the vote, siphoned off support from Trump, who wound up with 24 percent. And both Rubio and Trump wound up losing to Ted Cruz, who garnered 28 percent.

Just think of it. Trump started his campaign last summer by tapping into the anxiety that many Americans feel about immigration and the fact that the United States is becoming more Hispanic. But, in the Hawkeye State, he was crowded out by the sons of Cuban immigrants.

If Hollywood liberals still made movies about people of color, this story would make a great film -- even if it didn't get any Oscar nominations.

The color of the optics was not lost on Ann Coulter. The Trump supporter, and relentless nativist, marked the final returns by tweeting: "Trump is the leading GOP vote-getter tonight, among natural-born-American candidates."

This again? It must be especially bothersome for Coulter that Trump lost to Cruz. After all, she must see the senator as something of a double foreigner since he was born in Canada.

Even so, entrance polls showed that -- when asked which candidate shared their values -- only 5 percent of Iowans named Trump but 38 percent picked Cruz. The Texas senator's attack on Trump's "New York values" might have angered the Manhattan press corps, but Iowans seem to have understood what he meant.

Democrats are always quick to note political firsts, and this year many hope to elect the first woman president.

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