Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says Iowa voters, not Trump, deserve credit for her first election win

DES MOINES — Gov. Kim Reynolds said she owes her 2018 election victory to Iowa voters, not former President Donald Trump, who last week claimed credit for her win in a pointed social media post.

“I owe it to Iowans who actually put their trust in me,” Reynolds told reporters Tuesday when asked about the former president’s remarks. “They put their trust in me in 2018. It was a tough year for Republicans. I was one of the few that made it across the finish line, and then overwhelmingly won in 2022. So I am grateful, and honored, and proud to serve as governor of the state of Iowa, and I appreciate Iowans putting your confidence and trust in me.”

In a Truth Social post last week, Trump took shots at Reynolds for remaining neutral — and not endorsing — in Iowa’s 2024 Republican presidential caucuses. He also claimed credit for her 2018 victory, when she was first elected to office after succeeding former Republican Gov. Terry Branstad, who became Trump’s ambassador to China.

“I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won,” Trump wrote on his social media platform. “Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events!”

The post came after a New York Times article detailed internal strains between the Iowa governor and the Trump campaign. Reynolds appeared alongside Trump in April, but she has not joined Trump during his last two visits to Iowa. However, she has hosted other GOP presidential candidates, including Trump’s top primary challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Iowa governors and top politicians remaining neutral during the caucuses is a common practice. Republican U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst have both said they plan to remain neutral in the caucuses.

Reynolds said she is willing to appear alongside Trump in the future. She noted she has invited him, along with the rest of the Republican primary field, to her “Fair-Side Chat” interview series at the Iowa State Fair in August.

Reynolds announced Monday she would be hosting the one-on-one interviews with the Republican presidential candidates. Reynolds said the interview schedule during the first few days of the fair is already full, and she will be releasing the schedule soon.

“He’s been invited, so hopefully he’ll take that opportunity to show up,” Reynolds said. “I think it’s a great way for Iowans to see a different side of our candidates.”

DeSantis camp targets Trump’s comments

While Trump visited Cedar Rapids on Tuesday for a town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity, DeSantis' campaign highlighted new polling by Public Opinion Strategies for a little-known group called the Citizen Awareness Project that shows an overwhelming majority of likely Iowa GOP caucusgoers disagreed with Trump's comments about Reynolds. The group says it polled 400 likely Iowa GOP caucus goers July 14-16, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

Asked if "Trump was right to publicly trash Republican Governor Kim Reynolds for not endorsing his presidential bid," 78 percent of respondents disagreed with Trump's attack on Reynolds' neutrality, while 17 percent agreed.

A super PAC supporting DeSantis, Never Back Down, also released an ad Tuesday that uses an AI-generated Trump voice to read the text of the post.

Outside Trump’s Cedar Rapids town hall, Fred Wahl, of Eldora, said he disapproved of Trump’s comments about Reynolds. He said he supported Trump in his past elections and plans to support him again in 2024, but he wishes when it comes to Reynolds’ relationship with DeSantis, that Trump would “suck it up and not say nothing.”

“I don’t think he should get mad at her because she ain’t supporting him,” Wahl said. “Just let time play out. I don’t hate the guy but I wish he’d keep his mouth shut every once in a while.”

Erin Murphy, Tom Barton and Marissa Payne of The Gazette contributed to this report.