Did former Vice President Joe Biden just narrowly avoid disaster in Iowa?
NBC News' Chuck Todd thinks so, speculating on Tuesday morning that last night's catastrophic Iowa caucuses, results from which have still yet to be reported amid technical glitches, may have helped Biden more than anyone else.
"All indications are that Joe Biden was sitting somewhere in the third or fourth range with the first alignment ... it's very possible that once they do the delegate reallocation, he was going to be in fourth," Todd observed, adding "our entrance polls indicate that there was a real possibility of that."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Given that Biden was able to head out of Iowa and onto New Hampshire without embarrassingly coming in fourth place Monday night, Todd observed, "Joe Biden may have dodged a bullet." On the other hand, Todd argued former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg may have been hurt the most by the delays, as it "appears that he may have been the one that could have won on the second realignment."
Other pundits made similar observations about Biden, with Politico also declaring him "the biggest 'winner,'" noting the "questions surrounding the vote-counting served to obscure a potentially poor performance" by him. As the campaigns quickly moved on to New Hampshire, Politico observes Biden, in particular, "couldn't get out of Iowa fast enough." Brendan Morrow
-
Mall World: why are people dreaming about a shopping centre?Under The Radar Thousands of strangers are dreaming about the same thing and no one sure why
-
Why scientists are attempting nuclear fusionThe Explainer Harnessing the reaction that powers the stars could offer a potentially unlimited source of carbon-free energy, and the race is hotting up
-
Crossword: October 27, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
