Former President Donald Trump cast a shadow over the "Fair-Side Chat" at the Iowa State Fair between former Vice President Mike Pence and Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) but didn't come up much in the conversation.

Trump has feuded with Pence and Reynolds over their loyalty. With Pence, Trump has constantly blasted his former running mate, now 2024 rival, for not going along with an alleged plan not to certify the 2020 election results after their loss to President Joe Biden, now at the center of last week's federal grand jury indictment against the former president.

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Last month, the former president excoriated Reynolds over her neutrality in the Republican presidential primary race and her perceived closeness to Trump's closest competitor Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). "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 posted on Truth Social, his social media platform.

Reynolds has not budged from her neutral position since then and even praised DeSantis's campaign efforts in the Hawkeye State. “I know that he is doing the 99 county tour and he's showing up in rural Iowa,” Reynolds told Fox News on Thursday. “He's talking to voters. He's listening to voters. He's talking about his vision, and that's a really good thing to do.”

During his chat with Reynolds, the former vice president alluded to the indictment at the very end of their discussion. "I was always loyal to President Donald Trump until the day came that my oath to the Constitution required me to do otherwise," Pence said. "But I'll always be proud of the record of the Trump-Pence administration."

Trump snubbed Reynolds's invitation to participate in her "Fair-Side Chats," although almost all other 2024 rivals will speak with the governor.

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Meanwhile, Pence has sharpened his criticisms against Trump in the wake of the indictment, but Trump, not one to let an attack go unchallenged, has often lobbied fireballs at Pence to undermine him. As Pence spoke at the Des Moines Register political soapbox on Thursday where he called for new GOP leadership, Trump fumed on Truth Social. "I never asked Mike Pence to 'disregard the Constitution.' Nor did I tell him that he was 'too honest.' He is under great pressure and getting very bad advice from Marc 'Long' and perhaps some of his other advisers," Trump wrote. "His Poll numbers have just gone down from an already anemic level. Liddle’ Mike now wants to be a tough guy. He could have had greatness, but chose another path!"

Although Pence did not specifically reference Trump's post during his chat with Reynolds, he did offer this subtle critique. "I'm running because I think this is no time for on-the-job training; challenges America is facing in the world are profound," he said. "And we need leadership that can appeal to the better angels of our nature. Leadership that can least have the possibility of bringing the American people together to strengthen our nation, to revive our economy, to defend our values."