Donald Trump thanked his entire family and paid tribute to his late mother-in-law on Monday evening after his historic victory in the Iowa caucuses.
The former president, 77, said Ms Melania's mother Amalija Knavs was looking down from heaven and was “proud” of the historic result as he praised all his rivals in his victory lap speech.
Knavs died last week at age 78 and her funeral is scheduled to take place in Florida this week after Trump was in court to hear E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuit against him.
After storming to victory in just 30 minutes in the first primary, he celebrated by waiting on stage while Lee Greenwood's “God Bless the USA” played to the audience.
Trump paid tribute to all of his children, including son Barron, who he said he “watched on TV.”
He said that his 17-year-old son was so big because he continued to eat all of Grandma Knav's food.
Trump then congratulated Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis on their second fight, saying they had a “good time together.”
Donald Trump has called for the US to “come together” and thanked his entire family after decimating the rest of the Republican caucus in the Iowa caucus
The former president, 77, said Ms Melania's late mother Amalija Knavs was “looking down” and was “proud” of the historic result
He also had kind words for Vivek Ramaswamy just before he announced that he would stop campaigning.
“I also want to congratulate Vivek because he did a great job.” “He came from zero… that's a great job,” Trump said.
The historic landslide occurred despite arctic temperatures and the fact that the Hawkeye State was hit by snowstorms that were expected to decimate voter turnout.
It gives Trump a huge boost in his bid to win the Republican presidential nomination and return to the White House in what would be the most remarkable political comeback in US history.
The early call sparked outrage from the rest of the Republican camp, with DeSantis' campaign accusing the news networks of engaging in “election interference.”
Thousands of die-hard Iowans braved wind chills as low as minus 35 degrees and ignored frostbite warnings to go to their precincts to cast their votes.
Trump huddled at the site in downtown Des Moines for more than an hour after cable networks and the AP infuriated Ron DeSantis by calling the race for him while caucuses were still tallying support.
He was accompanied by his son Donald Trump Jr., who was a permanent deputy and who earlier Monday warned of a conspiracy to “suppress the vote.”
The speed of the call convinced Trump's party planners during the election campaign. His followers hadn't even arrived at the party when the networks made the call.
Only after he was declared the winner did his campaign turn on the public address system to play Elvis Presley's “Suspicious Minds.”
Supporters chanted 'Trump! Trump!' and “Build the wall!” as they waited for the former president to appear while a bar served drinks. Two large monitors showed a Fox News feed broadcasting the magnitude of his victory.
Former first lady Melania Trump's mother, Amalija Knavs, 78, has died after being hospitalized in Miami, Florida, over the holidays. She is pictured center with her daughter and Donald Trump in 2018
Knavs was a textile dealer in her native Slovenia when she met her husband Viktor. The couple then moved to the US and supported Melania throughout her career from modeling to East Wing. She is pictured with her daughter in 2004
The former president, 77, gives a thumbs up with his son Don Jr. next to a television screen showing Fox News saying he will win the race
As of 10 p.m., Trump had more than 50 percent of the vote, with Haley and DeSantis in second place
The historic landslide occurred despite arctic temperatures and the fact that the Hawkeye State was hit by snowstorms that were expected to decimate voter turnout
By the time he came out, his campaign had already said he had won in a “landslide,” and allies, including Rep. Elise Stefanik and the Make American Great Again PAC, called for rivals to drop out of the race.
Trump's celebration came as Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley battled for second place, and a DeSantis aide called it “absolutely outrageous that the media participated in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had the chance.” to choose.” .'
“The media is looking for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet,” complained adviser Andrew Romero.
It still remained unclear whether Trump would break the 50 percent hurdle and whether one of his rivals would gain enough momentum to gain momentum in New Hampshire or South Carolina.
Three caucus-goers show up at Franklin Jr. High School in Iowa ready to cast their votes
Sharon McNutt holds paper ballots listing candidates' names in alphabetical order
Voters arrive at a caucus site at Fellows Elementary School to select their Republican candidate
Trump's deputy, Kari Lake, raved about the victory and urged her rivals to drop out.
“Everyone and their brother knew President Trump was going to win.” The question is how committed the people of Iowa are to the future of this country. And tonight we found out that Iowans are just as great as we thought. “They showed up in droves,” she told at Trump’s victory party.
“I’m so proud of my home state,” the Iowa native said.
She brushed aside the 50 percent limit as a fixation. “Anything over 12 percent would be a huge victory,” she said of Trump’s margin of victory. “And I think he will exceed that 50 percent.” I hope so. But I'll tell you what, I'll take victory any day.
When asked to assess the significance of Trump's trials (she flies to New York for one tomorrow), she said, “I think Americans just understand what's going on,” and accused some in the media of “character assassination of a man who this country loves”.
She asked DeSantis and Haley to get out but touched them gently. She urged DeSantis to take some time to return to Florida. He just won this election. The people of Florida are counting on Governor DeSantis to come back and lead this…state. It's a great state in this country. And I hope that he does some soul searching and realizes that this isn't just another political moment in history… It's not his time.”
Then she slapped Haley and said, “I hope Haley, Nikki Haley, will tell her major donors and the major military-industrial complex, 'No, I will not be your pawn.' I will stand behind President Trump. We will save this country. “We will not waste hundreds of millions more on ads going to New Hampshire.”