Donald Trump has been named as the overwhelming winner of the Iowa caucuses even as votes were still being cast across the state.
The former president told Iowa voters their support means he will be able to persecute and punish “liars, cheaters, thugs… and other quite nice people” as he campaigned in the Hawkeye State.
After the networks called Mr Trump as the projected winner, the former president told Fox News Digital: “It really is an honour that, minutes after, they’ve announced I’ve won — against very credible competition — great competition, actually.”
He added: “It is a tremendous thing and a tremendous feeling.”
The Republican frontrunner was widely tipped to trounce rivals Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley when the Midwestern state went to the polls.
Meanwhile, the ex-president also launched into attacks over the weekend on Judge Lewis Kaplan, overseeing the E Jean Carroll defamation trial in New York, after he was denied a delay so that he could attend his mother-in-law’s funeral, a date on which he will now be campaigning.
Mr Trump will appear at the courthouse on Tuesday before heading to New Hampshire to campaign there ahead of the state’s primary next week.