Donald Trump rips media, question cost of self-funding his campaign

A win in Monday’s Iowa caucuses could provide enough momentum for GOP front-runner Donald Trump to effectively nullify attacks from even well-funded super PACs of his Republican competitors, one top GOP strategist suggested Monday.

In his second post, the Iowa runner-up also tried to explain his failure to win the caucus, claiming he did not spend as much time as his rivals in the Hawkeye State because he was told he “could not do well”.

“Nice”, tweeted Trump (@realDonaldTrump) on Tuesday. Came in a strong second.

The real estate developer has developed a reputation for trenchant and often biting tweets, and analysts were eager to see who might suffer abuse from Trump’s disappointing finish. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida was a close third.

Trump then promised to delve further into his mistreatment during a rally Tuesday night in New Hampshire, where he will “be talking about my wonderful experience in Iowa and the simultaneous unfair treatment by the media” before a “big crowd”.

Trump’s showing in Iowa inspired numerous derisive jokes on Twitter.

Mr Trump, who never tires of calling himself a “winner”, had his own favourite epithet used against him online. Just a few months ago, after an aborted sale and sweeping layoffs, The News seemed to have completed its devolution from the model of a big-city tabloid to a battered symbol of the diminished state of America’s newspapers.