ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Saturday he would consider Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds as a potential running mate if he wins the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and dismissed former President Donald Trump’s recent complaints about him as “totally out of control.”
“Of course,” DeSantis said when asked if he would consider the Republican for a second term. “I mean, she’s one of the best public servants in America.”
Trump last week slammed Reynolds, immensely popular among the state’s GOP base, for his seemingly cozy relationship with DeSantis while asserting his public neutrality as the leading Republican figure in the state that hosts the first presidential caucuses. in less than six months.
Reynolds appeared with other GOP prospects at the White House, but moderated conversations with DeSantis and his wife Casey DeSantis while attending Trump’s first campaign event in Iowa last March.
DeSantis noted that he and Reynolds joke about their similar records and the playful rivalry between the two states, where conservative politics has moved rapidly this year.
Notably, Reynolds was met with a sustained standing ovation when she appeared at a presidential candidates’ forum on Friday, attended by DeSantis and five others, and signed a strict abortion ban in front of an audience of about 2,000 Christian conservatives.
“Anyone who is a Republican who tries to disparage her is completely off the mark,” DeSantis told reporters, after headlining a fundraiser in suburban Des Moines for U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn.
On Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, the former president took credit for opening the governorship to Reynolds, who took office after Republican Gov. Terry Branstad became ambassador. of the United States in China under the Trump administration.
“Now she wants to stay ‘NEUTRAL,'” Trump wrote, adding that he wouldn’t invite her to his campaign events.
Trump is due in Iowa on Tuesday to participate in a town hall-style event with Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity.
Reynolds, elected in her own right in 2018 and easily re-elected last year, has been mentioned as a potential vice-presidential candidate for 2024, although Iowa GOP insiders have suggested the former state senator and rural county treasurer was ambivalent about this role.
DeSantis, who campaigned in Iowa on Friday and Saturday, said voters approached him to express their dismay at Trump’s criticism of Reynolds.
It struck a chord with Ryan Frederick, a GOP chairman from western Iowa County who attended a rally of about 50 Republican activists at a pizzeria in Winterset on Saturday morning.
Frederick, who leans in supporting DeSantis, said, “At least I don’t have to worry about him breaking Kim Reynolds.”
“If you’re a party loyalist, that’s a big deal,” Frederick added.