D'oh! In a notable upset, presumed GOP frontrunner Donald Trump came in second place in the Iowa caucuses on Monday, February 1, trailing an ascendant Ted Cruz. However, the real estate mogul tweeted two years ago that first place was the only spot that mattered.
In December 2013, Trump posted a quote by legendary golf pro Walter Hagen.
“No one remembers who came in second.” – Walter Hagen
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2013
Several memes surfaced soon after the Internet discovered Trump's old tweet.
Donald Trump’s actual reaction when he found out Ted Cruz won the #IowaCaucus. pic.twitter.com/Hq6bITl2YC
— Late Night (@LateNightSeth) February 2, 2016
The hardest thing Donald Trump has ever had to sell is second place.
— Seth Meyers (@sethmeyers) February 2, 2016
https://twitter.com/DCHomos/status/694359398467108864
@realDonaldTrump Great point.
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) February 2, 2016
According to the Associated Press, Cruz led Trump 28 to 24 percent, and it was an overall tight race for the Republican candidates. (Senator Marco Rubio trailed in third place at 23 percent.)
Despite the disappointment, Trump still took to the stage to thank his supporters. "We finished second, and I want to tell you something, I'm just honored. I'm really honored," Trump said on Monday night (via CBS News). "I want to congratulate Ted, and I want to congratulate all of the incredible candidates including Mike Huckabee, who's become a really good friend of mine. Congratulations to everybody.”
Huckabee and Martin O'Malley both dropped out of the race on Monday night. Meanwhile, Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton claimed a very narrow victory over Bernie Sanders. The results were supposedly the closest in the history of the Iowa Democratic history.
