Iowa may be the biggest state on Donald J. Trump’s early 2024 political calendar, but he hasn’t made many friends there lately.
He attacked Iowa’s popular Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, after his campaign informed one of the state’s politically influential evangelical leaders, Bob Vander Plaats, that the former president would skip a presidential candidate meeting this week in Des Moines
Monday’s back-to-back moves — which the campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis labeled in an email on Tuesday as a “disappointment of Iowa conservatives” — show just how far Mr. Trump, the Republican front-runner. nomination, he acts as if he is immune to traditional political trappings while he is also under indictment and his rivals seek to capitalize on some voters’ weariness with his antics.
“With Trump’s personality, I think he thinks he owns Iowa,” said Steve Boender, a board member of Family Leader, the conservative Christian group that is organizing the Friday event that Mr. “And I’m not sure he does.”
“I think Trump’s negativity is hurting things a little bit,” Mr. Boender, who is not lined up for 2024.
It is not surprising that Mr. Trump skips family leader meeting. He has generally avoided such “cattle call” events, which include all candidates, as advisers see those parameters as bringing him down to the level of his far-behind opponents. Moreover, Mr. Vander Plaats has made no secret of his desire to get ahead of Mr. Trump, including traveling to Tallahassee to have lunch with Mr. DeSantis at the governor’s mansion.
“I think there’s no doubt, most likely, I’m not going to support him,” Vander Plaats said of Trump. “So he thinks if he runs and I don’t support him, that will make him look weak.”
But as a result, he said, Mr. Trump was missing out on speaking to an estimated audience of 2,000 people, and “many of those people still love him very much.”
Over the weekend, The New York Times reported on the various ways in which Ms. Reynolds has appeared cozy with Mr. DeSantis, to the growing frustration of Mr. Trump, who nominated his predecessor as ambassador. He wants credit for his rise and career; he won re-election last year in a landslide. He broke out in public on Monday.
“I opened up the governor’s position for Kim Reynolds, and when she fell behind, I endorsed her, held big rallies, and she won,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in reference to his 2018 run. “Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL’ I don’t invite her to events!”
Ms. Reynolds’ office declined to comment. Mr. DeSantis quickly came to his defense on Twitter, saying he’s “a strong leader who knows how to ignore the boos and get it done.”
The comment of Mr. Trump drew some backlash from Iowans who support Ms. Reynolds, including Cody Hoefert, who served as co-chairman of the Iowa Republican Party from 2014 to 2021.
“It was the continuation of a series of unforced errors by the former president,” Hoefert said, also citing comments from Mr. Trump against six-week abortion ban.
Ms. Reynolds called the Iowa Legislature into special session this week to pass a six-week ban after an earlier effort was blocked by the state’s highest court. Mr Trump has said such a strict ban, when many women do not even know they are pregnant, is “too harsh”.
Hoefert said his break with Trump — during whose presidency he remained a loyal party official — is not due to other loyalties.
“This wasn’t, ‘I’m going to attack Trump because I’m supporting candidate X,'” he said. “It’s because I’m tired of the former president making it all about himself and attacking his friends and potential supporters and other Republicans who are doing great conservative things for what seems like a personal vendetta.”
Republicans opposed to Trump leading the party again predicted the attacks will play poorly with voters.
“She’s shown a penchant for self-destructive behavior, and it’s one of those things that I think voters notice,” said David Kochel, an Iowa Republican operative who has advised Ms. Reynolds. “Kim Reynolds is very popular in Iowa. She hasn’t attacked Trump. She won’t, she’s told everyone she’s going to his events, and the fact that he has an ego that he assumes everyone has to support him. That it won’t happen in these early states.”
Brett Barker, chairman of the Story County Republican Party in Iowa, saw it as an unnecessary battle. “I don’t think it’s helpful to pick fights with sitting governors who are really popular in their home states,” he said, before adding, “I don’t know how damaging it’s going to be in the big picture.”
A person close to Mr. Trump who was not authorized to speak publicly acknowledged that his attack on Ms. Reynolds was not part of a written plan, but questioned whether it would actually erode his position, despite predictions of political fallout. His team believes he has enough support among Iowans to counter the views of elected officials.
Steven Cheung, spokesman for Mr. Trump cited a “scheduling conflict” as the reason he missed the Family Leadership Summit, noting that Mr. Trump would return to Iowa next week. That visit will be for a Trump town hall with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“The president will be in Florida this weekend headlining the main national conference of young voters with the Turning Point Action conference, while DeSantis is nowhere to be found,” Cheung said of an event expected to draw a more pro- trump
The family leader’s event, which is expected to feature Mr. DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas are the second major event. conservative meeting in two months that Mr. Trump is being overlooked.
Vander Plaats said “half the battle” in Iowa was coming up, and that Mr. Trump had so far fallen short on that point.
“Iowa is tailor-made for me to beat him here,” he said. “And conversely, if he wins here, I’m not sure there’s any way to prevent him from being the nominee.”
