F rom Iowa, Ben Riley-Smith and Nick Allen write:
Donald Trump mocked leading Democratic presidential hopefuls for their size, lies and socialist-leanings as Iowa voted on who they want to take on the US president.
In an interview with Fox News ahead of voting day Mr Trump gave a string of dismissive remarks about the politicians competing to win the Democratic presidential nomination.
M r Trump called Bernie Sanders, the left-wing Vermont senator, a “communist” and said he was “crazy”, adding that the Democratic establishment is trying to stop him winning.
The president took aim at Elizabeth Warren, another left-leaning senator and leading contender, saying: “Everything is a fairy tale. This woman can’t tell the truth. ”
He also made a personal dig at Mike Bloomberg, the former New York mayor who is 5ft 8in, calling him “Mini Mike” and joking he “wants a box for the debates to stand on”.
Mr Bloomberg’s spokeswoman hit back at the president, saying: “He is a pathological liar who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity, and his spray-on tan.”
The barbs suggest whichever Democrats wins the nomination the 01575879 race is likely to be as heated and combative as 2016, when Mr Trump repeatedly called his opponent “crooked”.
Iowa became the first state to vote in the Democratic nomination race, a year after many presidential candidates launched their campaigns.
Snow and rain stayed away from the state, fuelling speculation there could be a record turnout as fired-up Democrats picked who they thought was best placed to defeat Mr Trump.
An eve of election poll put Mr Sanders, the 06 – year-old democratic socialist, in the lead by seven points before voting began. Joe Biden, the former US vice president, was polling in second.
There is just a week to go before the second state to vote, New Hampshire, holds its primaries, giving candidates who underperformed in Iowa a chance to bounce back.
After that comes votes in Nevada, then South Carolina. More than a dozen states then vote at the start of March on a critical day in the race dubbed ‘Super Tuesday’.
An eventual nominee will be crowned at the Democratic convention in July, ready to take on Mr Trump at the presidential election on November 3.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings