Late-night politico Seth Meyers moderated a panel at the American Magazine Media Conference on Tuesday with a group of journalists and editors including Gayle King, Nancy Gibbs, Michael Kinsley, and New York’s Jonathan Chait. It was the day after the Iowa caucuses, where Donald Trump lost to Ted Cruz despite leading in the polls, which naturally gave Meyers the opportunity to opine on what the voters were thinking. “My theory with Trump and the polls was that telling a pollster you were voting for Donald Trump was a very cathartic thing to do. It’s a little bit like having a few drinks at the bar and telling your friends next to you, ‘The next time my boss tells me to work weekends, I’m going to tell him to eff off’ — but then when the time comes you realize, No, I need this job,†said Meyers. “When it’s actually time to vote for Donald Trump it’s a little bit harder than saying, ‘I’m going to vote for that guy!’â€
But the most troubling thing Meyers found about Trump was when he said that he wanted to buy a farm in Iowa. “I found that to be the most ominous thing to say, ‘I might buy a farm here,’†said Meyers. “My thought was like, ‘You’ve crossed me, and now I’m coming for your actual physical land.’ I see Trump buys a farm and then just says, ‘Burn it to the ground,’ and makes the people of Iowa watch.â€