Former President Trump’s campaign described Iowa state Sen. Jeff Reichman (R) as “lily-livered” for flipping his endorsement to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) following Trump’s attack on Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) earlier this week.
In a statement to The Hill, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung stated, “There is no room for weak-kneed and lily-livered people on Team Trump.”
Reichman, an Iraq veteran, announced Thursday he would be flipping his endorsement of Trump, and backing DeSantis instead. The state senator, who is serving his first term in Iowa’s upper chamber, was included on a list of around a dozen Iowa officials who the Trump campaign considered early endorsers of the former president.
In his statement, Cheung goes on to claim DeSantis is “so desperate that he’s willing to offer buyouts in the form of fundraisers for endorsements.”
“The truth is that those who have been promised financial support are now regretting their deal with the devil because none of them have been able to schedule fundraisers with DeSantis,” the statement continued.
DeSantis’s campaign said earlier this month it raised $20 million during the second quarter of 2023, while the Trump campaign hauled in more than $35 million in the second quarter, the Trump campaign confirmed to The Hill.
Reichman’s decision to flip support comes days after Trump lashed out at Reynolds on Truth Social on Monday for not endorsing a presidential candidate in the 2024 election. The social media post followed a New York Times report describing the Trump campaign’s frustration with Reynolds’s multiple appearances with DeSantis during his stops in Iowa.
“Iowa Republicans must be united if we are going to take our country back and reverse Joe Biden’s failures,” Reichman said in a Thursday statement. “Governor DeSantis has achieved the same type of commonsense policy victories in Florida as we have in Iowa under Governor Kim Reynolds, and he will deliver historic success for the conservative movement as president as well.”
Multiple Republican presidential candidates, including DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson jumped in to defend Reynolds on Monday.
DeSantis described Reynolds as a “strong leader who knows how to ignore the chirping and get it done,” while Haley called Reynolds a “conservative rockstar who has delivered for the people of her state.”
Hutchinson took a swipe against Trump on Twitter, describing his behavior as “dictatorial.”
Trump declined to attend the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines on Friday, when six presidential candidates were interviewed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Trump will head to Iowa next week for a town hall with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity.