Former President Donald Trump dinged Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds Monday following reports that she’s been warming up to her Florida counterpart, Ron DeSantis.
In classic Trump fashion, the 77-year-old recalled how he had been supposedly been good to Reynolds in the past and appeared bothered by her unwillingness to endorse him to be the GOP nominee for the third straight cycle.
“I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won. Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events! DeSanctus down 45 points!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, using his referred spelling of DeSantis’ name.
Reynolds became the Hawkeye State’s governor in 2017 after Trump moved to appoint her predecessor, Terry Branstad, to serve as US ambassador to China.
Having since won two terms of her own accord, Reynolds has publicly said, “I’m not going to tell Iowans what to do” in 2024 and told GOP aspirants in private she intends to remain neutral, according to multiple reports.
However, Reynolds has appeared at multiple DeSantis events, including a donor gathering last year, and his first three visits to the Hawkeye State this year.
She has also attended events hosted by other contenders, including former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), among others.
Trump’s private frustration with Reynolds was detailed in a recent New York Times report that suggested she has been particularly impressed with DeSantis, the former president’s chief GOP foe.
The report noted that Reynolds did not attend a Trump event in Iowa Friday. While the governor’s office insisted she was not invited, the 45th president’s camp argued she had a standing invitation.
Last week, Reynolds appeared alongside DeSantis’s wife Casey upon her launch of the “Mamas for DeSantis” initiative to gin up support from mothers for her husband’s campaign.
“Thank you to my friend @KimReynoldsIA for joining me for the launch of Mamas for DeSantis,” the Florida first lady tweeted Friday. “Iowa and Florida are blessed to have strong governors who are holding the line in the name of freedom.”
“I love Iowa, protected & expanded Ethanol, got 28 Billion Dollars from China for our great Farmers, ended the Estate (Death!) Tax on farms, made the best TRADE deals in history (USMCA, China, & many more), introduced the World to our FARMERS, & kept Iowa’s ‘First in the Nation’ status,” the former president also said in his Monday post.
Trump lost the 2016 Republican caucuses to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), but won Iowa in both the 2016 and 2020 general elections.
The former president enjoys a 24-point lead over DeSantis in Iowa, per the latest RealClearPolitics average of polling. Nationally, Trump holds a 32.1-point GOP primary lead.
A Reynolds rep did not immediately respond to a request for comment.