The wide road through Iowa and New Hampshire is beginning to narrow as the list of presidential candidates is growing fewer and fewer. The results of both the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary have shown which candidates are in it for the long run, and which candidates are seeing their hopeful journeys come to an end. Donald Trump has been the consistent leader in the Republican polls, however failed to win the Iowa Caucus.
This loss may come as a surprise to many because of his recent success, but there is good reason behind Trump’s inability to win. Donald Trump opted to sit out of the GOP Presidential Debate on January 28th, thinking that it would not affect his results. However this decision looks like it cost him first place and a delegate in Iowa. On top of this, Trump’s attacks on Ted Cruz could have negatively affected his campaign, as he swayed away from political issues to dish out a  personal attack on his fellow republican nominee. Despite his initial disappointment, Trump successfully rebounded in New Hampshire winning 35.3% of the votes, almost 20% more than second place finisher John Kasich.
The competition in the Republican Party is thinning after Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie announced that they are dropping out of the presidential race. Neither of the two were able to gain much traction during their campaigning and thus removed themselves from contention. John Kasich placed second in the New Hampshire Primary, a very positive result for him as he was not considered to be a front-runner at all during the course of the last few months.
In addition to this news, it was recently announced that Donald Trump won the South Carolina Primary. This victory comes following the news of Pope Francis’ comments about Trump and his ideas. He said about Trump, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel,” There is no question that many people are opposed to the idea of Donald Trump becoming President of the United States of America, including the head of the Catholic Church. The Pope’s words are justification enough for many people to keep Trump from winning the presidency. In response the Pope Francis’ comments, Trump said “No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith.” He followed this by saying that “If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS,” the Pope will be wishing that he was president. Trump then finished his remarks by commenting on the Vatican’s walls and questioning them. Seeing Trump win his second consecutive primary, he still sits at the top of the polls, and at the moment, seems to favorite for representing the Republican Party.