Following his being declared the winner of the Iowa Caucuses, former President Donald Trump took the stage to address his supporters.
Flanked by sons Eric and Don Jr., Trump began by thanking his supporters and the people of Iowa. He called on the country to come together. He complimented his closest rivals, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, saying, “I think they both actually did very well.” He also complimented Vivek Ramaswamy for “doing a helluva job.”
Trump thanked his wife, Melania, and took a few moments to speak of his mother-in-law, who recently passed away. He joked that Barron only got so tall because he ate her food. He thanked the rest of his family, as well.
During his remarks, Trump acknowledged North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who left the race in early December, adding that he wants Burgum in his administration.
Trump: I want Doug Burgum in my administration. pic.twitter.com/gJ068wtPdR
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 16, 2024
Regarding Burgum’s departure from the race, Trump said:
He’s so solid and so good that he didn’t catch on. Sometimes, being a little controversial is good. He’s so perfect, although he did break his leg during the campaign — that wasn’t so good. But it sort of stood out a little bit…He was outstanding, but the traction is never easy, right? You need controversy for traction sometimes, and this guy is the most solid guy. There’s no controversy whatsoever. And he’s one of the best governors in our country, and I hope that I’m going to be able to call on him to be a piece of the administration — a very important piece of the administration.
Trump spoke about the border crisis, noting that addressing the issue was going to require large-scale deportation.
Trump: "We're gonna have to have a deportation level that we haven't seen in this country for a long time." pic.twitter.com/cxdZXhOOfp
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 16, 2024
We’re going to have to deport. We’re going to have to have a deportation level that we haven’t seen in this country for a long time — since Dwight Eisenhower, actually.
He also addressed the issue of media bias, laying the bulk of the problems facing the country at the media’s feet.
Trump: "If the fake news would become real and honest news, 90% of our problems in this country would be solved." pic.twitter.com/ItQ3VVFPCA
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 16, 2024
Next up for the former president is New Hampshire, where the primary will take place on January 23rd. Currently, Trump leads the RCP polling average there by 14 points over Haley, followed by former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (who’s dropped out of the race) and DeSantis.
The full speech can be seen here.
