Trump: Iowa MAGA will 'never again' support Kim Reynolds 

Photo credit:The Hill

 Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses will be held next January 15. All Americans who follow political events will be glued to their screens. The candidates who take first in their respective contests will be well-situated for other states' subsequent ones. 

President Donald Trump resisted calls to move Iowa to a later spot on the schedule, and preserved its historic, influential status. Being a lifelong Hawkeye State resident, I took particular notice and appreciated Trump's resoluteness on Iowa's behalf. So did scores of my fellow state citizens.  

I was painfully aware when, in early January, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds betrayed Trump by publicly endorsing feeble competitor Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (DeSantis later turned in a meager performance, during his Nov. 30 debate with California Gov. Gavin Newsom.)

I write of betrayal, because Trump had endorsed Reynold's gubernatorial bid. He says she sought his backing. And this is how she repays him.

In years preceding her disloyalty to Trump, Reynolds did some fine things: In 2018, she signed the fetal heartbeat bill. In March of 2019, she endorsed a bill requiring universities to protect free speech. And owing to her appointments, our state's Supreme Court shifted to sensible conservative status.

But that the Iowa chief executive betrayed Trump and embraced DeSantis has larger implications than its immediate circumstance. Her foolish decision can be interpreted as indifference toward regular Iowans, a majority of whom support the former president.

An October NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom survey of likely Iowa GOP caucus attendees found Trump enjoying 43% support. DeSantis and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley tied for second place, each at a paltry 16%. 

Regular Iowans march proudly in the MAGA movement, Reynold's backstabbing being of no consequence to us.

"My life was a lot better when Trump was in office," one Bettendorf, Iowa respondent told NBC, earlier this year. "I felt safe; things were cheaper; he helped out the farmers and my parents. Things were better -- plain and simple."

Rumors of the Iowa governor's impending endorsement of DeSantis circulated in days preceding it. Trump posted a characteristically devastating assessment on Truth Social: "If and when Kim Reynolds of Iowa endorses Ron DeSanctimonious, who is absolutely dying in the polls in Iowa and Nationwide, 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."

He continued. "Two extremely disloyal people is, however, a beautiful thing to watch. They can now remain loyal to each other because nobody wants them!!!"

A November poll by the Trafalgar Group found basically the same results as the survey cited previously. It asked 1,084 Iowa GOP "likely voters" who they would support were the election held now. 

Again, Trump won the backing of 43% -- nearly half. DeSantis trailed far behind, with only a mere 17.5% selecting him.

The 45th president's vows to re-energize the economy, halt illegal immigration, and restore America's preeminence in the world enjoy broad Iowa voter approval, particularly given the wretched Biden years.

I would speculate that once the former president has won the Iowa caucus and pocketed the national Republican nomination, Kim Reynolds may hasten to get a late ticket on the victory-bound Trump Train.

But as far as her future in politics, Trump may be right. Iowa voters have long memories.