Republican front-runner Donald Trump said Tuesday that he decision to skip the final GOP debate before the Iowa caucuses may have led to his second place finish in the early voting state after leading in polls in the weeks prior to the contest.
"That could've been with the debate," Trump said in Milford, N.H., where he was introduced and endorsed by former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, according to The Hill. "I think some people were disappointed that I didn't go into the debate."
Trump boycotted Iowa's only debate over an ongoing feud with Fox News, opting instead to host a fundraiser for veterans' causes, which Trump said brought in $6 million. The real estate mogul brushed off criticism that he didn't win Iowa, insisting he did "very well" by finishing behind GOP rival Ted Cruz, saying that expectations were too high.
"I guess what did happen is one poll came out that said we were four or five points ahead and maybe built up a false expectation for some people," he said, according to Boston.com.
Trump also indicated that perhaps his own expectations in Iowa were different than reality. Later on Tuesday, he told Fox News that he "didn't have much of a ground game" in Iowa because he "didn't think I was going to be winning," CNN reported. He was also disappointed with the lack of attention of his Iowa finish, saying, ""People didn't talk about my second place. They didn't talk about it as positively as they should have."
In the final Des Moines Register poll before the Iowa caucuses, Trump led with 28 percent to Cruz's 23 percent. That reflected the recent Iowa polling averages compiled by RealClear Politics for Trump with 30.4 and Cruz with 24.2.
Trump, who likes to brand himself as a "winner," was asked if he thought that the second place finish would tarnish that view. Trump responded: "I think my brand's doing great."
