By Jennifer Odell
6:00pm PST, Jan 19, 2024
_
The voters who braved subzero temperatures and -30 windchill to cast a vote in the Iowa Republican Caucus on Jan. 15, 2024, handed Donald Trump a landslide win with 51% of the vote. The former president knocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (with 21.2%) to second place, slightly ahead of former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who finished in third with 19.1% of the vote. After landing in a very distant fourth place in Iowa, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy officially suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump.
According to CBS News, "just under 15%" of registered Republicans across the frigid state turned out to vote. Despite the low turnout, tallies came in fast, with the Associated Press, NBC News and other outlets calling the race for Trump about 30 minutes after voting began. In the end, the former president won 98 of Iowa's 99 counties.
"What a turnout, what a crowd," Trump told supporters in his victory speech in Des Moines. "We're going to come together, and it's going to happen soon, too. … I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good time together," he continued, taking a swipe at his opponents. Trump — who lost to Ted Cruz in the 2016 Iowa Republican caucus but won in 2020 with more votes than he did on Jan. 15 — went on to claim, incorrectly, "This is the third time we've won, but this is the biggest win."
Keep reading to see how DeSantis, Haley, Ramaswamy, Joe Biden and more stars from both sides of the aisle are reacting to Monday's caucus news…
MORE: Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more fun celebrity & entertainment photo galleries and content
_
"They spent almost $50 million attacking us," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told supporters in Des Moines after the caucus results came in, according to The Hill. "The media was against us; they were writing our obituaries months ago. They even called the election before people even got a chance to vote. They were just so excited about the fact that they were predicting that we wouldn't be able to get our ticket punched here out of Iowa, but I can tell you because of your support, in spite of all that they threw at us, everyone against us, we got our ticket punched out of Iowa."
"We have a lot of work to do, but I can tell you this: As the next President of the United States, I am going to get the job done for this country," he continued.
MORE: Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more fun celebrity & entertainment photo galleries and content
_
"As of this moment we are going to suspend this presidential campaign. There's no path for me to be the next president absent things that we don't want to see happen in this country," Vivek Ramaswamy said at a watch party hosted by his campaign in Des Moines, according to the Associated Press.
"I will stick to the truth tonight. The first hard truth and this was hard for me, I gotta admit this, but we've looked at it every which way. And I think it is true that we did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight," he said elsewhere in his speech.
"Earlier tonight, I called Donald Trump to tell him that I congratulate him on his victory. And now going forward, he will have my full endorsement for the presidency," he added.
_
"CBS ANS CNN call Iowa caucuses for TRUMP at 7:30 CST on the dot. Amazing," Megyn Kelly wrote on X.
"Incredibly early (I remember sitting on the set w/Fox in 2012 until the wee hours awaiting results!) and a real testament to Trump's formidable strength," she later added.
_
"Looks like Donald Trump just won Iowa. He's the clear front runner on the other side at this point. But here's the thing: this election was always going to be you and me vs. extreme MAGA Republicans. It was true yesterday and it'll be true tomorrow…" –President Joe Biden on X
_
"All the people playing both sides of the fence have to show for their wishy washiness these past few months is a big load of splinters in their a**. Congrats to @realDonaldTrump for absolutely demolishing the field #IowaCaucus" –John Rich on X
_
"We are a huge country and only a small number of people in the country voted last night. Do not let the news of the day affect your voting future. Do not give up before you even have a chance," Maria Shriver wrote on X.
In an earlier post on X, the veteran journalist reacted to Vivek Ramaswamy suspending his campaign by writing, "No surprise here — on both the end of his campaign and the endorsement. Onward."
_
A reporter from "Entertainment Tonight" told John Oliver that Donald Trump had won the Iowa caucuses at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 15, where the "Last Week Tonight" host was celebrating two wins.
"Thanks very much for taking this magical moment and reminding me that joy is ephemeral, pain is forever. I'm glad I heard it first on 'ET,'" Oliver quipped. "Congratulations to Donald. This is gonna be a fun year."
_
"Well, that was fast. Thank you Iowa. Now let's end this nonsense and go after the insanity that is today's Democrat party. Enough is enough! It's time to put America first for a change." –Donald Trump Jr. on X
_
"If you've ever wondered what is the polar opposite of M.L.K. Day, it is the Iowa Republican caucus," Jimmy Kimmel joked on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on Jan. 16.
"Even though he barely spent any time in Iowa, it somehow made voters love him more. It's the same strategy he used raising Eric and Don Jr. … But Trump got 51% of the vote in Iowa. And even though it doesn't mean much — you know, in 2016, Ted Cruz won the Iowa caucus, and now he lives at the bottom of an aquarium," he said.
Continued the funnyman, "Experts have been saying for months that Trump would win over 50% of the vote. These Iowa caucuses were the political version of 'This could have been an email.'"
_
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel also shared a clip by the political comedy duo The Good Liars on X. "Well-done!" he wrote in the caption.
The Jan. 15 clip showed comic Davram Stiefler presenting a small trophy to Ron DeSantis as he greeted supporters in Iowa on the day of his loss.
"We hand-delivered Ron DeSantis a Participation Trophy at the Iowa Caucus," Stiefler captioned the video.
_
On "The View" on Jan. 16, co-host Joy Behar decried Donald Trump's win in Iowa.
"They voted for a guy who, today, had to come to New York to show up in court in a case against a woman that a federal judge has already said he raped. That's who you voted for," Behar said, according to Entertainment Weekly.
She was referring to Trump's expected appearance in court at writer E. Jean Carroll's defamation trial. A jury found the former president liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll in 2023. Behar also referenced Trump's Jan. 14 comments to a crowd at Simpson College, where he told supporters to turn out and vote for him even if they must risk their lives to do so.
"You can't sit home," Trump said, per the Des Moines Register. "If you're sick as a dog … even if you vote and then pass away, it's worth it."
On "The View, Behar snapped, "You voted for a guy who said, come, risk your lives for the grand wizard. Come in the snow and the sleet, because I am more important than your life. That's who the 5% voted for."
_
"So the Iowa Caucus isn't rigged? Just the elections Trump loses? Ok got it." –comic Davram Stiefler on X
_
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed (incorrectly) on X that Donald Trump's Iowa win was unanimous, by county, writing, "Trump just won all 99 counties in Iowa all while the Democrats are trying to put him in jail."
Trump won 98 of 99 counties in the Iowa caucus. He lost Johnson County to Nikki Haley.
_
"Trump just won the Iowa caucus. The same person who recently called the overturning of Roe v. Wade a 'miracle' is one step closer to becoming the Republican nominee for president. The choice is clear." –Vice President Kamala Harris in a fundraising call on X
_
"I think this should be a wake-up call for Republicans who don't want Trump, for central leaning independents … and, frankly, for Democrats who have been fretting and wringing their hands and clutching their pearls for the last year," Republican political commentator and former GOP strategist Ana Navarro said on CNN on Jan. 16.
"The last thing between Donald Trump and the presidency — the name is Joe Biden. And so I think it's time for people to really wake up, and this depression, this fear, this anger, this outrage this aghast-ment that I feel today at watching the results … [we should] channel that into figuring out how we stop Donald Trump from ever being president again."
_
"Will anyone forget where they were or what they were doing when they heard Ramaswamy was dropping out? … Yeah… didn't think so." –Mark Hamill wrote on X, adding several cricket emojis for good measure
_
On "The Tonight Show" on Jan. 16, Jimmy Fallon joked about the Iowa caucuses being held on the same night as the Emmy Awards: "Trump won 98 of Iowa's 99 counties. Apparently, the 99th county got confused and voted for 'Succession,'" he said.
