Donald Trump showed no cracks in the armour of his campaign to return to the White House after scoring an overwhelming victory in Iowa over his closest Republican rivals, prevailing in all 99 counties of the Midwestern state.
The result was widely expected, but it confirmed the tight grip Trump has retained over most voters in his party, who remain devoted to him despite the criminal charges he faces in courts across the US and yearn to see him back in office.
It has also raised the stakes for Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, and Nikki Haley, the former US ambassador to the UN, to mount more effective campaigns against the former president starting with the next contest in New Hampshire next week and into South Carolina next month.