If Trump plans to win, Iowa voters 'expect him to be here': Gov. Kim Reynolds

20 August 2023

Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds believes former President Donald Trump's decision to skip opportunities to engage with the state's GOP voters during the recent Iowa State Fair was not a good idea, CNN reports.

Per CNN, Trump "visited the Iowa State Fair last week but skipped the chats and soapbox opportunities."

Iowa has held the first presidential primary for decades, "making the rural state a critical part of candidates' campaigns."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

Spectrum News 13 reports several Iowa State Fair attendees who previously voted for Trump are now "conflicted" about whether they'll support him in 2024, while others have decided against supporting the MAGA hopeful all together.

"Trump has become a distraction, and not a healthy distraction," one state fair goer said.

CNN reports Reynolds "said on Sunday that Republican voters 'want the candidate that they think can win'" in 2024.

"I think we have a great field of candidates right now and I think we don't need more candidates in the field, we probably need less," the GOP governor said. "These candidates have put in a lot of time, we have a great field of candidates and we probably don't need more."

In Reynolds' eyes, Iowa voters "expect him to be here" if he plans to win, because "they want to interact" with the candidates.

However, CNN notes the governor said for now, "I'm remaining neutral, but I don't want to rule it out down the road. I think it is really important right now to, as I've said, encourage all of the candidates to come to Iowa. I don't want to rule out' an endorsement,"

This isn't the first time Reynolds had an issue with the former president, the news outlet reports.

The MAGA hopeful's attempt to take responsibility for Reynolds' gubernatorial win did not sit well with the governor who said, "It's actually Iowans who made the decision to elect me in a really tough year. 2018 was not a good year for Republicans."

CNN notes:

Last month, Trump lashed out at Reynolds for remaining neutral and for even appearing alongside other candidates who have invited her to events across Iowa. In a social media post, Trump claimed credit for Reynolds' ascent to the governorship and chastised her for not supporting him. Reynolds, as the state's lieutenant governor, succeeded Gov. Terry Branstad in 2017 after Branstad became Trump's ambassador to China. She was elected to a first full term the following year.

CNN's full report is available at this link.

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