Humbled by a second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, Donald Trump spoke for more than two minutes Monday night and didn't insult anyone.
"We finished second, and I want to tell you something: I'm just honored. I'm really honored. And I want to congratulate Ted, and I want to congratulate all of the incredible candidates, including Mike Huckabee, who has become a really good friend of mine," Trump said to his supporters Monday night, with some of the kindest words about Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) he's uttered in weeks.
Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, suspended his race Monday night.
Trump had held a fairly steady lead in Iowa caucus polling. But his operation largely relied on the enthusiasm of irregular or first-time voters, who failed to come through for him in a caucus process that can last for hours.
The real estate mogul no doubt had to swallow his pride considerably in this speech, since he regularly talks about winning in all aspects of life.
Trump even had kind words for Iowa caucus-goers Monday, making clear that at least for now, there were no hard feelings.
"Iowa, we love you. We thank you. You're special. We will be back many, many times. In fact, I think I might come here and buy a farm. I love it!" Trump said to loud cheers from the crowd.
Trump had previously joked to the people of Iowa that if he didn't win, "I will never speak to you people again, that I will tell you."
Note to our readers: Donald Trump is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist, birther and bully who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims -- 1.6 billion members of an entire religion -- from entering the U.S.
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