Iowa attorney general endorses Trump

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird (R) endorsed former President Trump during a campaign rally in Adel, Iowa, on Monday, making her the second statewide elected official in the Hawkeye State to wade into the 2024 GOP primary.

“We need a new president in the White House. I am so glad to get to be here today to introduce Donald Trump because he will secure our border. Who supports that?” she said to a crowd of Trump supporters.

“He will fight the terrorists. He will fix the economy. He will stand up for agriculture, and he will uphold our Constitution and our way of life,” she added.

Bird’s announcement, which was first reported by The Des Moines Register, makes her the second Iowa statewide official to endorse in the GOP primary after Iowa Treasurer Roby Smith (R) backed biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in August. 

The endorsement comes as Trump seeks to shore up support in the Hawkeye State after sparking backlash last month with his criticism of six-week abortion bans like the one in Iowa.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) defended moves by herself and others, such as Trump’s 2024 rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, to enact stricter abortion laws, saying, “It’s never a ‘terrible thing’ to protect innocent life.”

Reynolds has not yet made an endorsement in the 2024 GOP primary but has appeared alongside DeSantis at events, drawing the ire of Trump. 

The former president criticized her approach to the primary in July, writing in a post on Truth Social, “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!”

Bird, who was elected last year and is the first Republican to hold the attorney general’s office since 1979, said during a debate ahead of the November midterms that she was “pro-life” and that she would “defend the laws that are passed by the Legislature,” according to the Des Moines Register.

Trump continues to lead in national and local polling, with DeSantis placing second in the RealClearPolitics polling index of Iowa surveys, while former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley places second in RCP’s polling averages of New Hampshire and South Carolina.