Republican Gov Using Obscure Twitter Account To Praise DeSantis, Bash Trump: REPORT

Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has a little-known Twitter account used to praise Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 campaign and levy raw criticisms against former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Reynolds’ primary Twitter,  href="https://twitter.com/IAGovernor" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@IAGovernor, is a verified government account with over 70,000 followers and describes the governor as a “5th generation Iowan” with a link to her website. Her alternative account  href="https://twitter.com/Kimberl26890376" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@Kimberl26890376, reported on Thursday by the NYT, is unverified with roughly 600 followers, sports a selfie profile photo of Reynolds and her husband, and contains no biography or formal connection to her official account.

The @Kimberl26890376 was suspended on Thursday after the NYT report about it.

While Reynolds’ @IAGovernor appears to post often about her ongoing work as governor, the majority of @Kimberl26890376’s recent activity prior to suspension was reposts of criticisms against Trump and Haley, or shows of support for DeSantis.

Reynolds’ most recent  href="https://twitter.com/Redpot86/status/1741842871156650274" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">repost on the @Kimberl26890376 account was a photo of DeSantis and his family next to a separate photo of Trump with unidentified women at a party, with the caption, “The contrast is overwhelming.” Another repost  href="https://twitter.com/DeSantisWarRoom/status/1738279781274198372" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">attacked Haley as “not a conservative,” and a “liberal democrat who is actively auditioning to be Trump’s vice presidential running mate.”

Other @Kimberl26890376’s reposts praised DeSantis as “ href="https://twitter.com/GrageDustin/status/1741055217972433334" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the man in the arena,” and the “ href="https://twitter.com/DeaceOnline/status/1741191002801504740" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">easiest decision” for voters in 2024, NYT reported. In some of her own posts on this account, Reynolds referred to DeSantis as “ href="https://twitter.com/Kimberl26890376/status/1733491906288492732" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a true leader” and an “ href="https://twitter.com/Kimberl26890376/status/1730438083919642915" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">undeniable winner.”

Her “ href="https://twitter.com/Kimberl26890376/likes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">likes” from this account reflected the views of her posts and reposts, with one referring to Haley as an “establishment puppet” compared to “conservative fighter” DeSantis. Another liked post referred to DeSantis supporters as “alpha males.”

Reynolds formally announced her endorsement for DeSantis in November 2023, calling him the “most effective leader [she’d] ever seen” and encouraging the Republican base to pack its support behind him, although noting she would end up voting for “whoever the Republican nominee is.”

Reynolds’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.