Iowa’s Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds staked an awful lot on her colleague Gov. Ron DeSantis, giving him her endorsement over Donald Trump back in November, saying he was “someone who calls out our moral decline for what it is, who looks to the future and not the past, someone who, most importantly, can win.” A distant second finish for DeSantis in Iowa disproved that. It’s a humiliating defeat for Reynolds—the most unpopular governor in America.
When she made that endorsement, Reynolds was sitting at a 47% disapproval rating in Iowa, the lowest governor rating Morning Consult registered in the survey. Poised in the second-least popular position was none other than DeSantis at a pretty dismal 45% disapproval. Reynolds didn’t flag in her support, giving her time and energy on the campaign trail to DeSantis, even trying to game expectations early on Monday.
“I think it's going to be bad for President Trump if he doesn't come in over 50[%],” she told Fox News. “He's not meeting expectations that the media and the polls have been putting out for the past several months.” Sure, Kim.
She was there with DeSantis until the bitter end.
None of this has gone unnoticed by Trump, the clear choice of Iowa Republicans from the get-go. As early as last July, he was dragging Reynolds for not falling in line. “I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events! DeSanctus down 45 points!”
When Reynolds made her endorsement, Trump promised on his Truth Social platform “it will be the end of her political career in that MAGA would never support her again, just as MAGA will never support DeSanctimonious again.” Reynolds was being “extremely disloyal,” Trump continued. He followed up with a video ridiculing Reynolds as "the most unpopular governor in America." He picked up that theme in Iowa over the weekend, calling Reynolds out again for disloyalty and dinging her as the “least popular” governor in the nation.
“So I don’t blame her for then picking somebody because we wouldn’t let her go to any rallies or anything,” he rambled. “But here’s the thing I’m most proud of: She went from the most popular governor in the United States in two weeks to the least popular governor. She’s the least popular governor in the United States. But I just thought it was very disloyal.”
This puts Reynolds’ future in definite question. She’s not term-limited, and isn’t up for another two years, but she has made a powerful enemy who has an insanely rabid crowd of supporters in Iowa. She and DeSantis might try to spin DeSantis’ humiliating second-place finish as some kind of win, but it was a dangerous defeat for both of their futures.
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When she made that endorsement, Reynolds was sitting at a 47% disapproval rating in Iowa, the lowest governor rating Morning Consult registered in the survey. Poised in the second-least popular position was none other than DeSantis at a pretty dismal 45% disapproval. Reynolds didn’t flag in her support, giving her time and energy on the campaign trail to DeSantis, even trying to game expectations early on Monday.
“I think it's going to be bad for President Trump if he doesn't come in over 50[%],” she told Fox News. “He's not meeting expectations that the media and the polls have been putting out for the past several months.” Sure, Kim.
She was there with DeSantis until the bitter end.
None of this has gone unnoticed by Trump, the clear choice of Iowa Republicans from the get-go. As early as last July, he was dragging Reynolds for not falling in line. “I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events! DeSanctus down 45 points!”
When Reynolds made her endorsement, Trump promised on his Truth Social platform “it will be the end of her political career in that MAGA would never support her again, just as MAGA will never support DeSanctimonious again.” Reynolds was being “extremely disloyal,” Trump continued. He followed up with a video ridiculing Reynolds as "the most unpopular governor in America." He picked up that theme in Iowa over the weekend, calling Reynolds out again for disloyalty and dinging her as the “least popular” governor in the nation.
“So I don’t blame her for then picking somebody because we wouldn’t let her go to any rallies or anything,” he rambled. “But here’s the thing I’m most proud of: She went from the most popular governor in the United States in two weeks to the least popular governor. She’s the least popular governor in the United States. But I just thought it was very disloyal.”
This puts Reynolds’ future in definite question. She’s not term-limited, and isn’t up for another two years, but she has made a powerful enemy who has an insanely rabid crowd of supporters in Iowa. She and DeSantis might try to spin DeSantis’ humiliating second-place finish as some kind of win, but it was a dangerous defeat for both of their futures.
RELATED STORIES:
Ron DeSantis finishes a distant second in Iowa
Republicans' 2024 primary is getting interesting, and, yes, it could matter
Trump's performance in Iowa is not nearly as good as the media makes it seem
Campaign Action