Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds hits Trump for ‘misleading’ ad claiming her support

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) took aim at former President Trump for launching a “misleading” ad suggesting she supports him. 

Trump’s campaign released an ad earlier this month including comments from Reynolds praising the former president as being “a partner in the White House” for the Midwest. She argued the ad was misleading since she has chosen to endorse Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, not Trump, in the 2024 GOP primary.

“It’s misleading — it’s not fair to Iowans. Run on your policies, run on your vision,” she told Fox News on Monday. “You know, he came in, he was upset with me because I was gonna stay neutral at the beginning of the campaign for the first-of-the-nation caucus, which I did for seven months.”

“I made a decision to weigh in, then he said that support, endorsement didn’t mean anything,” she continued. “It was worthless. He said I was the worst governor in the country. So you know, that’s on one hand, and now we look at another hand. He’s using me in a commercial back that dates back to 2016. And, again, misleading Iowans as if I was endorsing them and going back and forth.”

Reynolds endorsed DeSantis last month, a change in stance from her previous statements that she would not get involved in the GOP primary. Since then, Trump has blasted Reynolds and DeSantis for the partnership, saying her endorsement is “not going to make any difference.”

Trump also accused Reynolds of being “disloyal” ahead of the endorsement. 

With the Iowa caucuses just weeks away, Trump has remained the clear front-runner in the state, despite DeSantis projecting confidence in recent weeks. A recent NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll found Trump is leading DeSantis by 32 points in Iowa.

Reynolds said that while she supported Trump in 2016 and 2020, she believes it is time for Republicans to put forward a new candidate who can “win.” She also noted that DeSantis can serve for eight years, while Trump can only serve for four, suggesting that he would be a “lame duck” from his first day in office.

“We need somebody that can follow through with what they said they were going to do. And we need somebody that on day one can reverse the madness that we’ve seen from the Biden administration,” she said. “That’s Ron DeSantis.”