“The absolute dumbest thing you could do is to attack Iowa's popular governor,” Steve Deace, an Iowa-based radio host for Blaze TV, said of Trump’s social media rant about Gov. Kim Reynolds.
In a grammar-challenged post on his Truth Social website, Trump wrote:
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!”
Back in February, Gov. Reynolds told the Des Moines Register she will “welcome everyone to the state” who is running in the primary but will not endorse any of them, and she pledged to help introduce them around the state and help make connections.
Reynolds has since appeared with Gov. Ron DeSantis at three events in the state, according to a Politico story.
Reynolds cruised to a second term last year after narrowly winning her first term in 2018 over businessman Fred Hubbell.
Hubbell was leading Reynolds in some polls but Reynolds won on Election Day by three percentage points, according to the Register.
In an appearance on American Family Radio, Deace said Trump is unwisely criticizing Iowa’s popular governor in the state that holds the first-in-the-nation caucuses.
“She is the most popular statewide-elected official with base conservatives in the 30 years that I have lived here, and it's not even close,” he said.
Asked what Trump is likely thinking when he criticized the governor, Deace said he suspects there is a “lot of conflict” within the former president over how he is viewed and how he views others.
“Is he the guy who says I am your retribution and send that as very powerful messaging, or is he the guy who says I'm owed something by everybody because of what I've done in the past,” Deace said. “I think that this primary process will probably wash that out for us and make it obvious."
