'It's a Different Day': Iowa Gov. Reynolds Reacts to New Trump Ad Disputing Her Endorsement of DeSantis

In early November, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R) endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the state's upcoming Republican presidential caucuses, something which my colleague Teri Christoph noted was "unlikely to make Trump happy."

Big Endorsement Incoming for Ron DeSantis, Unlikely to Make Trump Happy

That's evident in a new campaign ad by Team Trump airing in the state, which highlights Reynolds' support of former President Donald Trump in the past. The ad tries to use her own words to imply that Reynolds' endorsement of DeSantis for 2024 isn't legitimate.

Gov. Reynolds is now pushing back against the ad, speaking exclusively with Fox News Digital:

"It’s misleading and it’s not fair to Iowans," the governor said Monday night in an interview with Fox News Digital while referring to an ad the Trump campaign is running in the Hawkeye State that spotlights years-old clips of Reynolds praising the former president.[...]
"He was upset with me because I was going to stay neutral at the beginning of the campaign for the first-in-the-nation caucus, which I did for seven months," Reynolds said in her Fox News interview and in comments to the crowd minutes earlier.

Reynolds insisted that during the 2024 election in her state, "it’s OK for Iowans to say ‘thank you for what you did’ and move on [from Trump]." She also restated her reasons for endorsing Gov. DeSantis, "We need somebody that can win. We need somebody that can follow through on what they said they were going to do."

She called out the conflicting message from Trump--both touting her "helping" him in the state previously, and turning around and attacking her. Reynolds also considers the 2024 election cycle "a different day":

Reynolds noted that after she backed DeSantis, Trump said her "endorsement didn’t mean anything" and called it "worthless," adding that she was "the worst governor in the country."
"That’s on one hand, and now we look at another hand – he’s using me in a commercial that dates back to 2016 and again [is] misleading Iowans as if I was endorsing him and going back and forth," the governor added. "In 2016 and 2020 I supported President Trump. I endorsed him. I helped him in the state of Iowa. It's a different day. It’s a different time."

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung responded to Fox News, when asked about Reynolds' comments: "[I]is she saying that she lied to voters all those years?"

As this is a developing story, RedState will bring you further updates as they become available.