The news networks are working hard to make sense of the utter confusion coming out of Iowa as the state’s caucuses concluded. Iowa is of course the first state to weigh in on the presidential hopefuls, and has not yet picked a winner among the Democratic candidates amidst rampant voter confusion.
“Iowa Meltdown Hands Opening to Trump,” said the CNN.com homepage.
Other headlines on the CNN homepage offered a similar sentiment.
“What is going on in Iowa? Local Officials Raise Concerns,” said one.
“Opinion: the Iowa Caucuses are an Embarrassment,” said another.
“Viable? Not Viable? Iowa Voters Navigate Tumultuous Caucus,” said another.
Those are the first three headlines on the left of the site as of 9:30 a.m. ET Tuesday.
One story read, “The Democratic 2020 crusade to oust President Donald Trump could not have got off to a more disastrous and embarrassing start. The party couldn't even deliver a first-in-the-nation election night winner after a vote-reporting debacle in Iowa — where candidates spent months and millions of dollars vying for a glittering opening prize in their nominating duel.
‘Iowa, you have shocked the nation,’ said former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.”
Over on FoxNews.com, the headline said “Caucus Chaos.” The copy reads, “Team Trump mocks, confused candidates fume as Iowa Democrat Party botches 2020 kickoff.”
Headlines on the Fox News homepage read, “MEDIA BUZZ: Who won? Iowa caucus disaster highlights why the process is a mess” and “Trump calls Iowa caucuses an 'unmitigated disaster'.”
Precinct chairs all over the state were not comfortable using a new app to report caucus results, many phoning in the results, as they have traditionally done.
Iowa Democratic Party chair Troy Price said there was no hack of the state’s voting processes.
Hashtag #IowaCaucusDisaster is trending on Twitter.
The MSNBC homepage said “Chaos in Iowa: Caucus results delayed after reporting meltdown.”
Hardball host Chris Matthews added, “Get it right. This is our specialty, democracy … I got a problem with Iowa on this. If you want it first, do it right.”
The Des Moines Register said that “underlying data” collected on smartphone apps to report caucus results looked fine, but the system was only reporting partial data, meaning a delay in reporting final results. The error was caught early Monday, and accuracy checks ensued.
"We have determined that this was due to a coding issue in the reporting system. This issue was identified and fixed," said Troy Price in the statement. "The application’s reporting issue did not impact the ability of precinct chairs to report data accurately."
Elsewhere in the Iowa capital, Hearst TV’s KCCI.com reported that final results will be shared “later Tuesday.” Iowa, meanwhile, faces “fresh questions about whether Iowa can retain its coveted ‘first’ status.”
Back in New York, the NY Post spoke for many with its front-page headline: “Duh Moines.”
