LARRY KUDLOW: The liberal media may obsess about the Trump indictments, but the country doesn't care

So, with 25 days to go before the Iowa caucuses, Former President Donald Trump appears to be running away with the game. He's now up to 52% in the latest Fox Business Poll last week – a large gain over September and his first time topping 50% in the multi-candidate race – essentially with a 35-point lead over his nearest competitors, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.   

Now, as I've said a million times, polls are not votes, but they are snapshots of what voters are thinking and it is noteworthy that the Fox Business poll respondents were likely participants in the caucuses and the caucuses are only 25 days away – so we're coming down to the short strokes.   

Inside the poll, 83% of Trump supporters were certain to support him, whereas DeSantis and Haley supporters were just above 50% and 65% of voters would be satisfied if Trump wins, whereas DeSantis and Haley were under 50%.   

LARRY KUDLOW: THIS IS A VERY BAD STATE OF AFFAIRS 

While Trump is running up strong voter majorities, the poll also shows voters want a strong leader with mental ability and stamina and someone who can defeat Biden.   

Putting two and two together, that spells Trump. On the issue of January 6th and related legal matters, the poll basically shows Iowa voters don't care. 58% saw nothing seriously wrong with Trump. 21% says Trump did something wrong. Only 16% say maybe he did something illegal.   

So, for nearly three-fifths of respondents, the Trump legal issues are a non-issue. Frankly, I have argued this for many months. The liberal media may obsess about the Trump indictments, but the rest of the country doesn't care.   

What Iowans do care about is economic issues (at number one), but also a very substantial concern about immigration issues. So, I will repeat my mantra -- that Donald Trump's consistently large polling lead is mainly a result of his effectively communicating his position on key issues. Especially on economic growth and border security issues.  "Drill, baby, drill," tax cuts, deregulation, curbing inflation and shutting down the southern border.   

The former president all during the past year has talked issues and it's paying off. Now, from Mr. Trump's many campaign speeches and videos and white papers, if he wins, look for him to reopen the fossil fuel spigots, especially on public lands and roll back Joe Biden's socialist Green New Deal.

Especially the electric vehicle mandates and all the rest of the greenie war on various household appliances like showers, toilets, gas stoves, air conditioners, coal-fired pizza ovens, dishwashers, ceiling fans and microwaves and all the other things Joe Biden is trying to jam down our throats.  Indeed, Mr. Trump will seek to repeal all the onerous Biden regulations that have clogged the arteries of small business and raised prices for the middle class.   

Expect Mr. Trump to go after the ultra-liberal Deep State federal bureaucracy, including significant reforms to hiring and firing tenured civil servants. Mr. Trump will move quickly to make his 2017 tax cuts permanent and may well launch new pro-growth tax reforms.   

Look for him to restore executive budget impoundment authority to slash Biden's over-spending and over-borrowing.  The former president is also likely to move quickly to stop unfair trading practices and you can bet he will aim to finish the border wall, restore some form of "Remain in Mexico" and Title 42 to stop Biden's flow of illegal immigration and he is likely to expand on prior efforts for legal immigration reforms.   

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All year long, he has talked about these issues. Voters have paid attention, even while the lefty media has not. As the campaign proceeds in the new year, there will be plenty of other issues and policy blueprints. As the Fox Business Iowa poll shows, Mr. Trump has tremendous energy and has proven to be a strong leader.   

Let me underscore that last point.  Whether it's the economy, the border, trade, or foreign policy, the nation yearns for a strong leader following Joe Biden's incredibly weak postures on everything. This is going to be a big general election theme.  I call it ‘Trump tough.’