Former President Trump led all 2024 Republican presidential candidates in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night and became visibly emotional during his victory speech.
After winning the contest, he started recognizing family members and mentioned Amalia Knabs, Melania Trump's mother, who passed away last week.
“Most importantly, I want to thank my wonderful wife, the First Lady, former and perhaps future, but more importantly than Melania, I want to thank her incredible wife, who passed away a few days ago. I want to thank my beautiful mother,” Trump said, his face visibly changing.
He added, “And she's up there, way up there. She's looking down and she's so proud of us. And I just want to say to Amalia, you're special and I'm so proud of you right now. “She was one of the most special people I've ever known. “It was a tough time for her family, but she was amazing. I just want to thank you for everything you have done for my family and my husband.”
Mr. Nafs passed away on January 9, 2024. He was 78 years old.
DeSantis beats Haley to finish second in Iowa behind Trump's historic caucus victory
Former President Trump speaks during a caucus night event at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 15, 2024. Iowans voted today in the state's caucuses for the first contest in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination process. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Ms. Nafs is survived by her husband, Victor, who was briefly mentioned by the former president.
“They're great people and great, great parents to all of us, really great parents.”
Trump also spoke about the influence his mother-in-law had on his youngest son, Barron. “Hey, was she taking care of Baron? That's why he grew so tall. He only ate her food.”
Former President Trump told Americans on Monday after winning the Iowa caucuses that “it's time for our country to come together” as a potential Republican challenger to President Biden in the November election. solidified its position. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
President Trump began his remarks by acknowledging other 2024 Republican candidates, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, Gov. Nikki Haley and Gov. Vivek Ramaswamy, who finished fourth in the race. He later suspended his election campaign.
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He then thanked his children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, and campaign officials for his decisive victory.
“I want to thank my family. In general, they've worked so hard and they've taken a lot of abuse to be good people. I mean, good people. But Eric and Don are really “These two have worked so hard. “It's hard, and they have other jobs, so they have to do it all,” he said.
The former president, who is often known for his confrontations, struck a rare conciliatory tone throughout his remarks.
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“I want to thank you all. This has been a long time coming. And most importantly, I want to thank the great people of Iowa. Thank you. We love you. What a turnout. What a turnout. And I really do.'' “This is a time for all of us in this country to come together, whether you're Republican or Democrat, whether you're liberal or conservative, we want to come together,'' Trump said.
Former President Trump won the Iowa caucuses, fending off late challenges from rivals Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“It would be great if we could all work together to fix the world, fix the problems, fix all the death and destruction that we see, but the reality is that things like this “Never, but that's just the way it is,” he continued. “That's important. And I want it to be a very important part of our message. We're going to come together and that's going to happen soon, too.”
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The next primary between Trump, DeSantis, Haley and the remaining Republican candidates will be held in New Hampshire on January 23rd.
A poll from earlier this month showed Trump leading the Granite State with 39%, followed by Haley in second place with 32%. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has since withdrawn from the race, received 12% of the vote. Mr. Ramaswamy was in fifth place in the poll with 8% and Mr. DeSantis with 5%.
Get the latest on the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more with Fox News Digital's Election Hub.
