Interesting spin, but... ugh, no. Trump, a New York guy, with flash and sass, comes into IA, where Cruz has been tub-thumping and preach-a-fying for two years, and both are locked into a threesome with an amnesty candidate and you say Trump's brand is tarnished. Ugh, again, no.
Fact is, Cruz could not put them away. I understand the polls. But the arm-twisting system and the easy dirty-tricks availability make IA more than just show up and vote. But, with Cruz tactics he still could not put the competition away. IA is the best Cruz will ever do and should be the worst that Trump will ever do. So who is tarnished?
Brand loyalty is a powerful thing; I don’t tend to recognize the tarnish on brands I like either. Trump’s brand is that he’s the winner, but in reality today he isn’t.
Be careful of prognosticating when your tag line speaks of false prophets. You might be right, but then again you might not.