Former President Donald Trump was “a little bit subdued” but also “very happy” with his historic win in the Iowa caucuses ​​Monday, Matthew Whitaker, Trump’s acting attorney general, said Tuesday on Newsmax.

“I think he understands the gravity of all of this and all that’s going on, but I think this was also for him a demonstration that that the MAGA base, President Trump’s coalition of working class in American families and especially here in Iowa, they had his back,” Whitaker, who participated in the caucuses in his hometown of Ankeny, Iowa, told Newsmax’s “Wake Up America.”

Whitaker said Trump’s win was a “magical moment” for everyone who worked on the campaign.

“In politics, winning’s a lot better than losing, and winning big is even better,” Whitaker said. 

Trump got 51%, marking the first time a candidate has scored more than 50% of the state’s votes. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (21%) and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (19%) trailed Trump.

Whitaker said the win came after a “lot of hard work,” and he didn’t think anyone believed the campaign could get over 50% of the vote. 

“I felt pretty good going to my caucus in Ankeny, which is my hometown, but you still just never know, because Iowans are a very discerning political class of folks that want to meet these candidates and what to talk to them about their issues,” said Whitaker.

He noted that he has been participating in the Iowa caucuses since he was a senior in high school in 1988, and he loves the four-year tradition and said Iowans will need to fight hard to keep the contests the first in the nation going forward.