It’s a nice trick if she can pull it off.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds isn’t exactly a referee when it comes to the fight between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. She’s more like an innocent bystander trying not to get gored in the middle of a bullfight. Her goal is not to take sides — hard to do when a former president calls you out for being “disloyal.”
But other Republican candidates appreciate Reynolds for her kindness and her party cheerleading when she makes an appearance with every Republican candidate who comes to Iowa to campaign. For second-tier candidates like Tim Scott and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchison, the fact that Reynolds has appeared with them at events across Iowa is most welcome.
For Reynolds, it’s just good politics. At this stage of the race, despite Trump’s huge lead, stranger things have happened in American presidential politics. Just ask President Howard Dean or President Ted Kennedy. Both of those candidates had massive leads at one point in their campaigns, and both candidates ended up as also-rans.
But Kim Reynolds’s neutrality has been challenged by Donald Trump, who sees her not endorsing him outright as tantamount to a personal betrayal.
“I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to her 2018 race. “Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events!”
In the immortal words of Independence Day Secretary of Defense Albert Nimziki, “That’s not entirely accurate.” At the very least, it’s a huge exaggeration.
Reynolds ascended from lieutenant governor to become Iowa’s first female governor in 2017 when Trump plucked then-Gov. Branstad to become ambassador to China. Trump appeared twice with Reynolds in 2018, but it’s a huge stretch for the former president to claim he engineered her victory.
Anyway, this isn’t about 2018. It’s about 2024 and the fact that Reynolds choosing the traditional role for an Iowa governor — welcoming to all candidates and endorsing none — has Trump in a lather.
Other Republican candidates have pounced on Trump for going after one of the most popular Republican elected officials in the country.
During a stop in Ankeny, Iowa, last month, DeSantis said he would consider Reynolds as a potential running mate if he wins the nomination. He called her “one of the top public servants in America.”
“I thought the attacks on her were totally, totally out of hand and totally unnecessary,” he told reporters. “Anybody who’s a Republican that’s trying to denigrate her, I think, is way off-base on that.”
An ad released Thursday by the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down criticizes Trump for focusing his attention on Reynolds at the expense of other issues. The ad running in Iowa blasts the former president for “attacking Republican governors” while “Joe Biden is destroying America” and features a clip of Trump criticizing Reynolds.
When asked about the ad, Reynolds told CNN: “I can’t control what people do, I can’t. I’m just going to continue to do my job.”
Iowa, like New Hampshire, takes its role as the primary judge of a candidate’s fitness for the presidency seriously. That’s why Trump is “only” 20 points ahead of DeSantis in Iowa, while his lead is twice that nationally. Many voters in these early primary states like to “look a candidate in the eye” at least once before making a choice.
Related: Trump Is in Iowa, Playing Cat and Mouse With DeSantis
Reynolds is familiar with the process. But that doesn’t mean that she won’t make her own endorsement at the most strategically opportune time.
In an interview at the Iowa State Fair this week, Reynolds repeatedly left the door open to a late endorsement before the caucuses open the Republican nominating contest in January. She said she believed the primary race was far from settled.
“I don’t think you should ever say, ‘Never, never,’” Reynolds said when pressed on whether she’s ruling out endorsing closer to the January 15 Iowa caucuses. “We’ll see what happens. I’ve made it clear, probably looking at neutral, especially in the beginning.”
Reynolds has been careful not to burn any bridges with Trump in case the former president wants to choose her for the second spot. But Iowa is a virtual lock without Reynolds on the ticket, so it would be unlikely that Trump would choose her.
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