"Reinforced." "Hugely honored." "I feel great." Donald Trump praised his "very special" victory at the start of the Republican primaries for the November presidential elections on Monday night, with his comfortable victory in the Iowa caucuses.
Trump won comfortably with 51.1% of the vote, according to U.S. media projections for 94% of the vote counted. He won all but one county and claimed 20 delegates ahead of the mid-2024 designation of the candidate he will face in the general election later this year almost certainly President Joe Biden.
Trump gathered 55,432 votes, a figure much higher than that of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who with 23,054 votes -21.2%- made eight delegates, and that of the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who was left with another seven delegates and the victory in Johnson County, product of 20,687 votes -19%-, as reported by CNN.
The 77-year-old tycoon, who has been plagued by several court cases, said he feels "reinforced" and "enormously honored" by the results, and again said that his goal is to "Make America Great Again" (MAGA), just as "I did in my term."
"I feel great. I feel very honored (...). We've got our country back, ... it's been through a lot of bad things in the last three years and it's still going through bad things," Trump said in an exclusive interview with Fox News.
"I feel great. I'm very honored," Trump said. Photo: Reuters
He also told reporters that he "wants to fix the world's problems." And among his promises, he slipped that in a second term his mantra will be "dig, honey, dig," alluding to greater oil excavations to relaunch national energy production.
He also said he would "seal the border" in the face of what he called an "invasion."
For political analysts, Iowa's comfortable results in favor of Trump mean that the "matter is over." There is no chance for the former president's rivals in this race.
Marc Lotter, former communications director for Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign, spoke to BBC Radio 4's Today programme ahead of the outcome of the Iowa caucuses.
While the months-long campaign for the Republican nomination has only just begun, Lotter insists that "there hasn't been a race here in quite some time."
"This is over," he says, adding that Trump's rivals "just haven't figured it out yet." Lotter suggests we'll soon see Ron De Santis and Nikki Haley "quickly line up."
What happened to the Democrats?
Once the results were known, Biden appealed on Monday night to his supporters to donate to his campaign, in the certainty that this victory in the first Republican election has made Trump "the clear favorite" of the opposition for the November 5 elections, the Europa Press news agency reported.
"It looks like Donald Trump just won Iowa. He's the clear favorite on the other side right now. But here's the thing: This election has always been about you (voter) and me against the extremist MAGA Republicans. It was true yesterday and it will be true tomorrow," Biden emphasized on his social networks.
Looks like Donald Trump just won Iowa. He's the clear front runner on the other side at this point.
But here's the thing: this election was always going to be you and me vs. extreme MAGA Republicans. It was true yesterday and it'll be true tomorrow.
So if you're with us, chip...
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 16, 2024
The Democrat took the opportunity and asked supporters if they are on his side to contribute to his fundraising page, after adding a link to it on his personal profile on the social network X.
Biden has used his first campaign speeches of 2024 to warn that Trumpposes a serious threat to American democracy, citing his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election and condemn political violence.
How DeSantis fared
For his part, DeSantis, a conservative with hard positions on immigration or abortion, was satisfied with his electoral performance and his second place, although he bet everything on Iowa, touring each of the 99 counties in recent months.
Ron DeSantis was pleased with his electoral performance and his second place. Photo: Christian Monterrosa / AFP
The Florida governor savored his good result with his supporters, whom he thanked for their support when "everyone was against it." The media "wrote our obituary a few months ago," he said.
Haley, the only woman in the race and highly regarded by business circles, did not consider herself defeated by the third place finish and predicted that she would do better in other primaries.
What's next in the U.S. primaries?
Starting next week, the primary calendar will take candidates to New Hampshire. They will remain in the other states until June.
In July, the Republican presidential nominee will be officially nominated at the national convention.
Trump wants to knock out the competition before his trials begin, some of which expose him to jail time.
Democrats also hold primaries, but without much mystery.
Barring a last-minute surprise, Biden, who already has strong support from his party, will be designated in August as the Democratic nominee despite criticism of his advanced age: 81 years old.
With information from agencies and BBC News