After placing second in the Iowa Caucus, Donald Trump took to Twitter to blast the winner, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), accusing him of committing fraud during the selection process. Trump called for the results to be “nullified.”
The tirade began Wednesday morning, after the real estate magnate faced public ridicule for coming in second.
An earlier ‒ and since-deleted ‒ tweet said Cruz "illegally stole" the caucus win.
Trump then laid out why he believed that Cruz committed fraud during the caucuses, including releasing a statement that neurosurgeon Ben Carson was quitting the race and asking for the doctor’s supporters to caucus for Cruz instead; sending out "voter violation certificates"; and claiming that Trump was strongly in favor of Obamacare and abortion.
There was speculation that Carson had left Iowa early on the day of voting.
The Carson campaign also accused Cruz of playing dirty tricks. The Texas senator apologized on Tuesday.
Trump also attacked Cruz from the stump on Tuesday night, bashing the Canadian-born senator’s honesty, Business Insider reported.
"What kind of people do we have running for office?" the billionaire businessman said at a campaign event in Milford, New Hampshire. "No, it's honestly really, really dishonest. And I think I know why. You know why? Because he was born in Canada!"
Following Trump's second-place finish in Iowa – which means he will move on from the Hawkeye State with only one less delegate devoted to his candidacy than first-place finisher Cruz – the Donald took to Twitter to bash "unfair treatment by the media," despite his campaign's domination of media coverage in the run-up to the caucus.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate tweeted Tuesday morning that he had received complaints of voter fraud in the caucuses, but cautioned Iowans that the meetings are not official elections and are up to each party.
There have also been allegations of potential fraud during the Democratic caucuses on Monday night.