well the Democrats have finally begun
the process of choosing a candidate to
challenge President Trump in November
the first stage the Iowa caucuses has
been a fiasco with results delayed more
than 24 hours with about 71 percent now
of the vote and I were declared the
youngest candidate 34 year-old Peabody
Josh is leading closely followed by the
left winger Bernie Sanders
mr. Burrage edge is the first
self-identified gay candidate to try and
win the presidency he described the
results as an astonishing victory we
don't know all of the numbers but we
know this much a campaign that started a
year ago with four staff members no name
recognition no money just a big idea a
campaign that some said should have no
business even making this attempt has
taken its place at the front of this
race to replace the current president
with a better vision for the future well
the former US Vice President Joe Biden
was considered by many to be the
front-runner he is trailing and fourth
place speaking in New Hampshire he joked
about the delay and results from Iowa
you know 24 hours later they're still
trying to figure out what the heck
happened in Iowa at this rate New
Hampshire might get the first vote after
all so it's a big night for the
Democrats and for Republicans let's take
you to Washington and join our
correspondent there Ben right Ben first
the president Trump's speech and often
foreshadows what's going to be the
themes for the year in terms of his
campaign to retain the presidency if so
he's betting on the economy yeah he
certainly is I mean there is a buoyancy
in the American economy people are
feeling
I think flashier than they have for
quite a while the unemployment rate is
it a 50-year low not an all-time low as
I think President Trump claimed in his
speech but there is definitely an
optimism around the US economy that he
absolutely intends to try and capitalize
on and and ride into the White House for
a second term
it was also interesting I thought in his
speech that there were messages targeted
at african-americans Hispanics
I think he's trying in a way to broaden
his base little and he needs to if he's
going to guarantee getting another term
he can't just rely on the base that he
had back in 2016 I mean his his approval
ratings have never got beyond about 50%
I think he I think he needs to broaden
that coalition in the next nine months
to be confident of being reelected in
November but it was a very confident and
typically bombastic Donald Trump
performance it did feel more like a
political rally than a State of the
Union address and it was surreal because
sitting there in front of him were you
know ranks of Democrats including the
house managers who've been trying to
turf him out of office in the case
they're prosecuting in the Senate a case
that wraps up in the next few hours with
what everybody assumes will be Donald
Trump being acquitted so it was very
strange in terms of the timing the tone
was startlingly toxic even for
Washington yeah what is being made of
those notable breaches of decorum then
well we'll sit we'll see is Washington
wakes up I think Nancy Pelosi's actions
aggravated and angered a lot of
Republicans I think many Democrats are
furious the contempt that they would say
president Trump showed to Nancy Pelosi
at the beginning where he didn't shake
her hand I mean the two have not had a
very good relationship for a long time
and I think those two bits of theater
just emphasized how polarized and bitter
and divided American politics is and you
know you see it in Capitol Hill you see
it far beyond Washington as well so
briefly Ben to who will take on
President Trump in November is there
some surprise that people gestured so
well in Iowa I think there is and there
were certainly some momentum with him
now and people it was very difficult of
contradictory things on the eve of this
caucus and of course it was in the end
chaotic and we don't fully know how the
eventual results will tabulate and
shakedown but people to church clearly
did well Bernie Sanders did relatively
well we could say that Joe Biden did
badly and I think he now has got some
real ground to make up through New
Hampshire South Carolina's his big bet
where there is a big african-american of
democratic vote down there he needs to
make some ground up now if he's not
going to fall by the wayside fairly on
in this in this contest but it's you
know it's so early to say who's going to
emerge as the front-runner but people to
church clearly I think is that a very
good couple of days Ben good to see you
thanks so much for joining us from
Washington