Trump definitely didn’t deliver the organization of a ground game that would be required there. As first in the nation, they are (to my mind) some of the most finicky, pandered-to attention seekers in the country every 4 years.
You know, as someone who favors Trump at this point, I think if he is going to run on the notion of bringing operational competence, excellence, and meaning to government that we can be proud of, then he needs to show it in his campaign. That means gathering the necessary campaign advisers, listening to them, and doing things like “get out the message of the day” kind of stuff and less ad hoc stand-up winging.
While Trump may think he is re-writing the campaign book, Iowa shows that much of what is already written better be paid attention to.