The Trump campaign is firing back after Republican Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds officially endorsed Ron DeSantis for President on Monday evening.
Reynolds told a crowd in Des Moines that they need to “make the right choice” by choosing the one man she views as having the skill “to reverse the madness that we see every single day” out of the Biden administration.
“We need someone who will fight for you and win for you. We need someone who won’t get distracted but will stay disciplined, who puts this country first and not himself,” she said. “That leader is … Ron DeSantis.”
Reynolds took another jab at the former President by contrasting his administration’s embrace of Dr. Anthony Fauci with DeSantis’ dismissal of the former chief medical adviser.
“When the Trump administration let Fauci lead their response, Ron had the courage to say, ‘not in Florida,’” she proclaimed.
Gov. Kim Reynolds: “We need a President who has the skill and the resolve to reverse the madness that we see every single day…. We need someone who won’t get distracted, that will stay disciplined, who puts this country first and not himself.”
“That leader is RON DESANTIS!” pic.twitter.com/0zUXKuOhyA
— Never Back Down (@NvrBackDown24) November 7, 2023
Iowa Governor Reynolds Endorses DeSantis – Trump’s Campaign Isn’t Happy About It
Reynolds’ endorsement of DeSantis is a bit of a surprise, given the fact that she had previously vowed to stay neutral during the primaries.
“I want to welcome everyone to this state,” Reynolds said in an interview with the Des Moines Register earlier this year. “And if I weigh in, I don’t know if they’ll feel all that welcome.”
So what has changed?
“I just felt like I couldn’t sit on the sidelines any longer. We have too much at stake. Our country is in a world of hurt, the world is a powder keg, and I think it’s just really important that we put the right person in office,” she said.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds on why she’s breaking with the Iowa tradition of staying neutral during the primaries and endorsing Ron DeSantis:
“I just felt like I couldn’t sit on the sidelines any longer. We have too much at stake. I truly believe that he is the right person to… pic.twitter.com/f46QbmMZOU
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) November 7, 2023
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Reynolds also believes that Trump would have difficulty defeating President Joe Biden.
“I believe he can’t win,” she said of Trump, “and I believe that Ron can.”
Recent polls show Trump leading Biden in a majority of swing states.
BREAKING: Iowa Gov Kim Reynolds formally endorsed Gov Ron Desantis, telling me in their first intv together that “Trump can’t win” and she doesn’t base her decisions on polls but on “who is the right for the job.”
She plans to hit the trail for him hard.https://t.co/ZLs8cRfEpa
— Dasha Burns (@DashaBurns) November 6, 2023
RELATED: Trump Winning In Seven Swing States As Voters Spurn ‘Bidenomics’
Team DeSantis Happy With The Endorsement
The campaign for Florida Governor DeSantis was thrilled to get an endorsement from Reynolds as we head into January’s crucial Iowa caucuses.
DeSantis himself described Reynolds as “one of the greatest governors in the United States” who “stands for the conservative values that we all believe in.”
“SHAKE UP THE RACE”: Iowa State Rep. @TaylorCollinsIA says @KimReynoldsIA endorsing @RonDeSantis will “make a significant impact.”
“We’re talking about a VERY POPULAR governor…If you look at likely caucus goers, 90 percent of those Republicans are supportive of Kim Reynolds.” pic.twitter.com/qeATeFCaz9
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) November 7, 2023
Trump’s campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, however, dismissed the importance of the endorsement.
“Birds of a disloyal feather, flock together,” he said in a statement. “Kim Reynolds’s endorsement of DeSanctus is a prime example of disloyalty in politics. The people of Iowa know what President Trump has done for their state.”
“The fact is that her endorsement does not make any difference in Iowa, because people know President Trump is the undisputed leader of the Republican Party,” he added.
Cheung might just be right.
Trump’s campaign released polling numbers which show a vast majority of voters across many demographic cross tabs say they won’t be swayed by the Reynolds endorsement.
“Why would anybody endorse Ron DeSanctimonious, who is like a wounded bird falling from the sky?” Trump wondered in a post on his Truth Social media platform.
“What’s that all about?”
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