Is it good politics that Donald Trump is mad at one of the most popular Republican governors in the country? Trump feels slighted by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds because, like many elected Republicans, she’s refusing to endorse either Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“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!”
Reynolds owes Trump, the former president thinks, and not paying back a political debt is a betrayal.
That may be true under ordinary circumstances. If Trump was running for re-election, it might be considered a double-cross for Reynolds to fail in her support of Trump.
But Reynolds isn’t supporting DeSantis, either. And her refusal to commit to either candidate at this stage of the race is simply good politics.
Trump has to accept the fact that 2024 has a different dynamic than 2016. And while his die-hard supporters will vote for him regardless of what happens, there are many Republicans on the fence waiting to see where his legal troubles will end up taking him.
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The former president is also in trouble with some Iowans for skipping a key conservative Christian event organized by Family Leader. More than 2,000 conservatives will listen to candidate speeches while Trump will be attending a Turning Point conference in Florida, according to the New York Times.
“The president will be in Florida this weekend headlining the premier national young voter conference with Turning Point Action conference while DeSantis is nowhere to be found,” said Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Mr. Trump, who cited a “scheduling conflict” as the reason he’s missing the Family Leader Conference.
Trump’s shot at Reynolds did not go over well with many GOP leaders in the state. Cody Hoefert, who served as co-chair of the Iowa Republican Party from 2014 to 2021, said, “It was a continuation of a series of unforced errors by the former president,” including Trump’s statement opposing Iowa’s six-week abortion ban.
“This was not, ‘I’m going to attack Trump because I’m supporting X candidate,’” Hoefert said, according to the Times. “It’s because I’m tired of the former president making everything about himself and attacking his friends and potential supporters and other Republicans who are doing great conservative things over what seems like a personal vendetta.”
Gov. Reynolds signed a bill protecting speech on campus in 2019. She signed one of the most revolutionary school voucher programs in the country in 2022. She has been at the forefront of activist conservative lawmaking since being re-elected in 2019.
Most notably, she was a big supporter of Trump in 2020, which hasn’t seemed to have made a difference to the former president.
“He’s shown his penchant for self-destructive behavior, and it’s one of those things that I think voters notice,” David Kochel, a longtime Republican operative from Iowa who has advised Reynolds, told the Times. “Kim Reynolds is very popular in Iowa. She hasn’t attacked Trump. She won’t — she’s told everyone she’ll go to their events, and the fact that he has such an ego he assumes everyone has to endorse him. That’s not going to happen in these early states.”
Brett Barker, the chair of the Story County Republican Party in Iowa, said, “I don’t think it’s helpful to pick fights with sitting governors who are really popular in their home states.” He added, “I don’t know how harmful it’s going to be in the big picture.”
By itself, Trump’s criticism of Reynolds for not pledging her fealty is not that important. But what of the cumulative effect on the electorate of the next six or seven months of Trump’s constant need for politicians to demonstrate their loyalty and devotion? He can’t attack everyone and win.
That singular fact might cost Trump dearly in Iowa and beyond.
