Trump toughens his rhetoric and seeks to distance himself from his Republican rivals The former US president swept the party's primary elections in Iowa

Former US President Donald Trump caused a coup in the Republican primary elections after winning more than 50 percent of the votes in the caucuses in Iowa.It is a historic victory with which he wants to distance himself from his competitors as quickly as possible and move towards Democrat Joe Biden. The day after his victory in Iowa, where he celebrated with a powerful anti-immigrant speech, Trump had to appear in New York court where his defamation trial began In a lawsuit filed by a writer who had already won another lawsuit for sexual assault.

– Promoting anti-immigrant rhetoric

Trump card Checked in Iowa A 51 percent of votes, 30 percentage points ahead of his rivals: Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantiswith 21.2 percentThe former governor of South Carolina and former ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haleywith 19.1 percent. It was the largest victory in history in the Iowa caucuses Flag of the start of the Republican primaries for the White House Their second stop is New Hampshire.

“I think it's time for everyone, for our country to come together. Whether they are Republicans, Democrats, liberals or conservatives.” Trump card After announcing the results to his supporters gathered in a festive atmosphere in Des Moines, the capital of Iowa, he then summarized his electoral program: a promise Drill more oil wells and “Close the border” with Mexico.

“We have an invasion of millions of people entering our country, a number far greater than the population of the state of New York,” Trump said. Immigration is one of the issues that concerns Republicans and one of the real estate mogul's favorite issues..

mexican president, Andrés Manuel Lopez ObradorHe replied this Tuesday. “It is part of the campaigns in the United States, many things are expressed to try to win votes. However, the border between Mexico and the United States cannot be closed, Borders cannot be closed because economic and social integration is necessary“, Lopez Obrador said in his regular morning conference.

“The obvious favourite”

In a message on the social network X, Biden admitted that winning in Iowa makes Trump “the preferred candidate among Republicans at the moment.”. For his part, the Governor of Florida said Ron DeSantis, a conservative with hardline positions on immigration or abortion, is betting everything on Iowa, touring each of the 99 counties in recent months. He enjoyed his good result with his supporters, whom he thanked for their support when “everyone was against it.”

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, the only woman in the race and highly regarded in business circles, finished third in Iowa, but did not consider herself defeated and expected to do better in other primaries. Vivek Ramaswamy came in fourth place with approximately 7%, but instead announced that he was surrendering and calling for a vote for Trump.

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Polls in New Hampshire's Jan. 23 primary show Trump ahead, but with Haley closeThis was thanks in part to the support he received from the state's popular governor, Chris Sununu. “Haley has a chance in New Hampshire,” said Professor Michael Kornfeld of George Washington University. “But even if she wins there, she will need to win a second term to put herself in the race.”

Iowa and New Hampshire have limited weight in electing the Republican nominee to the White House, but they have great symbolic power as they are the first two states in the primary process: they are the states that decide which candidate has the desired boost to move forward and who should retire.

DeSantis has for months been the favorite to be Trump's replacement. But in recent weeks, Haley has gained support from major donors Now some see it as the best option to oust the former president. In any case, neither Haley nor DeSantis has a chance of winning in a direct confrontation against Trump, and their strategy, for now, is to present themselves as an “alternative” to Trump in case something unexpected happens from a legal standpoint. Scenery.

Looming on the horizon for Trump and his rivals, after New Hampshire, South Carolina and a few other stops, is what is known as “Super Tuesday” on March 5, a crucial date marked in red on the calendar with 15 states called to the polls. , including the country's two largest: California and Texas. Trump needs to get 1,215 delegates to be declared a candidate at the Republican National Convention next July in Wisconsin.. In Iowa, he added only 20, but Super Tuesday could bring him closer to that number.

Defamation trial

Within Trump faces four criminal cases and faces 91 charges, among other things, on charges of incitement to the 2021 Capitol assault, which could result in prison time. However, for now, these criminal charges are “helping” Trump win the primaries, according to Kornfeld. The professor explained, “The accusations validate their feelings of injustice and divert media attention from the nomination race.”

On Tuesday, Trump appeared in a Manhattan court in New York to begin the second trial against him on charges of defamation after accusations against writer Elizabeth Jane Carroll, whom he already had to compensate for a sexual assault that occurred in the 1990s. The second trial is limited to the financial compensation that Trump must pay to Carroll for calling her “crazy” and for ensuring that her allegations of sexual assault were “false.”