Speaker 1: On Monday, voters in Iowa will be the first in
Speaker 1: the country to cast a vote for who they think
Speaker 1: should be the Republican nominee for the twenty twenty four
Speaker 1: presidential elections. It's a big moment for the country in
Speaker 1: what could be the most consequential election cycle in decades.
Speaker 1: So far, we've only gotten a sense of what voters
Speaker 1: want from polls, but on Monday, we'll finally see what
Speaker 1: they want from their ballots, at least in one state.
Speaker 1: Here's what polls have told us so far. A recent
Speaker 1: one of likely Iowa caucus attendees has former President Donald
Speaker 1: Trump leading the GOP race with fifty one percent. That's
Speaker 1: according to a joint poll from the Des Moines Register,
Speaker 1: NBC News, and Mediacom. But there's one major figure in
Speaker 1: the state's Republican leadership who has come out loudly in
Speaker 1: support of someone else.
Speaker 2: We need someone who won't get distracted but will stay disciplined,
Speaker 2: who puts this country first and not himself. That leader.
Speaker 2: That leader. That leader is Ron DeSantis.
Speaker 1: That's Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds speaking back in November when
Speaker 1: she announced her support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Compared
Speaker 1: to Trump's fifty one percent, DeSantis is polling at nineteen.
Speaker 1: Today on the show, I'm joined by Governor Kim Reynolds.
Speaker 1: We taped just days before the Iowa caucuses. We talked
Speaker 1: about why Ron DeSantis has her vote and if she
Speaker 1: thinks the rest of the state will vote with her.
Speaker 1: Plus we've got the exclusive on what she'll do if Trump,
Speaker 1: who she's been very critical of, becomes the party's nominee.
Speaker 1: From Bloomberg's Washington Bureau. This is big take DC. I'm
Speaker 1: your host, Seleiah Mosen. Governor Reynolds, thank you so much
Speaker 1: for agreeing to come on the show.
Speaker 2: Yes, I'm happy to do it. Thanks for the opportunity.
Speaker 2: I appreciate it.
Speaker 1: Honestly, I wish that we had enough time to debate
Speaker 1: whether your state, Iowa or my state Ohio really jes
Speaker 1: as the president. I'm a Cincinnati girl, so there you go.
Speaker 2: Honestly, Iowa's role is not to necessarily choose the president.
Speaker 2: Our role is to narrow the field.
Speaker 1: Governor Reynolds, you have picked your candidate, and in just
Speaker 1: a few days, Iowa Republicans are going to choose theirs.
Speaker 1: Ron DeSantis started this campaign strong in the polls in
Speaker 1: your state, and now he's down. I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: from you, what do you think DeSantis needs to do
Speaker 1: in the next couple of days to come out of
Speaker 1: Iowa with the bounce that you're hoping for.
Speaker 2: First of all, it's not going to be the polls
Speaker 2: or the media that's going to dictate to Iowan's who
Speaker 2: the winner of the Iowa caucuses. It's really going to
Speaker 2: be the individual that's put the boots on the ground,
Speaker 2: that's traveled the state, that's got in front of Iowan's
Speaker 2: gave them an opportunity to talk about the vision that
Speaker 2: they have for getting this country back on track, but
Speaker 2: most importantly, to stand there and answer question after question
Speaker 2: after question. And I've traveled with him, and I've watched
Speaker 2: him do that, and I've seen the result after he's finished,
Speaker 2: when we leave a room. There's been just so many
Speaker 2: people that have come up and said, I wasn't sure.
Speaker 2: I hadn't made my mind up yet, I'm in. They'll
Speaker 2: sign a caucus card. You've convinced me. I've seen him flip.
Speaker 2: So I think first of all, he just needs to
Speaker 2: highlight his record. He has a phenomenal record to run on.
Speaker 2: It's not what if this is what I'll do, it
Speaker 2: is I've done it. I often tell Iowa's if you
Speaker 2: like what we've done here in Iowa, you're gonna love
Speaker 2: what Ron DeSantis will do for this country. We need
Speaker 2: a candidate that can win, and I think he's the candidate.
Speaker 1: I do want to ask you one question that's on
Speaker 1: the mind of a lot of people coming from.
Speaker 2: Out of Iowa.
Speaker 1: Is this a race for a second against Nikki Haley?
Speaker 2: No, No, I don't necessarily think so. This is not
Speaker 2: a national election. It's a caucus. It's on the ground.
Speaker 2: It's totally different than a primary. We're going to have
Speaker 2: some now weather on the fifteenth, and so we have
Speaker 2: to have people fired up, willing to go to the
Speaker 2: caucus way in for their candidate. I mean, there's a
Speaker 2: lot of variables that play into that. So it's who's
Speaker 2: got the energy. That's why I think Ron's breaking at
Speaker 2: the right time. I think people are showing up. He
Speaker 2: has the momentum. I think Nicky's had a lot of
Speaker 2: gaffs in the last several days. Here's the other thing
Speaker 2: that I think people need to know. Recognize that he's
Speaker 2: still moving his likability is still increasing, and he's had
Speaker 2: over forty million dollars of negative ads against him. But
Speaker 2: be quite honest, Nikkiy has hardly had a finger laid
Speaker 2: on her, and when she starts to come under scrutiny,
Speaker 2: I think she's demonstrated doesn't always do very well. And
Speaker 2: so you know, listen, this guy has been tested during COVID.
Speaker 2: Both of us very similar in how we responded to it,
Speaker 2: and we've got a lot of horrific media and pushback,
Speaker 2: and so I like somebody that's been tested, that has
Speaker 2: a spine of steal and not afraid to make the
Speaker 2: tough decisions.
Speaker 1: You and Governor Chris Sinuou of New Hampshire, you were
Speaker 1: two key Republican governors who are vocal about backing a
Speaker 1: candidate other than the ex president, Governor Reynolds. Do you
Speaker 1: think that more of your fellow GOP governors are going
Speaker 1: to join you both in an alternate candidate as the
Speaker 1: primaries unfold.
Speaker 2: Well, I think you've seen some. I mean other governors
Speaker 2: have also weighed in, and that's an independent choice. I
Speaker 2: mean they'll have to make their own choice in regards
Speaker 2: to that. But I didn't take it lightly I take
Speaker 2: the verse in the Nation Caucus very seriously. I wanted
Speaker 2: to make sure that I welcomed all of our candidates
Speaker 2: to the state of Iowa. Wanted to make sure that
Speaker 2: I provided them a platform to share their message and
Speaker 2: vision and to help introduce them to iolands. And for
Speaker 2: seven months I did that. But I'm telling you, our
Speaker 2: country is in trouble. The world is on fire. I
Speaker 2: am not only a mother, but I am a grandmother
Speaker 2: to eleven grandchildren. We're a resilient country. We can come
Speaker 2: back after four years of just the insanity and overreach
Speaker 2: and just things that we've seen. I'm trying to think
Speaker 2: of agedis to describe it, because there are a lot
Speaker 2: from this president. But I'm not sure that we can
Speaker 2: come back from another four years. And so we have
Speaker 2: to get this election right. We have to elect somebody
Speaker 2: that can win. We have to elect somebody that has
Speaker 2: the skill and the resolve to step in on day
Speaker 2: one and reverse the madness that we've seen. The madness
Speaker 2: has to stop, and I just I feel very strongly
Speaker 2: that Ron's the person that can do that, and so
Speaker 2: I felt like it was important for me to weigh in.
Speaker 1: After the break Governor Reynolds on what issues matter most
Speaker 1: to Iowan's and what she will do if Trump is
Speaker 1: the nominee.
Speaker 2: We're back.
Speaker 1: I'm joined by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. We're talking about
Speaker 1: her state's upcoming caucus where voters will weigh in on
Speaker 1: the Republican presidential field. There are a lot of questions,
Speaker 1: of course, around Donald Trump's candidacy as we head into
Speaker 1: this coming weekend in Iowa, that if Trump gets less
Speaker 1: than fifty percent of the vote in your state, he
Speaker 1: could be beatable.
Speaker 2: Well, I think you know, that's what Iowa does. I
Speaker 2: talked about we narrow the field. If you come in
Speaker 2: a strong second, it's close. He's fifty or below. I
Speaker 2: think it is a different ballgame. We'll see what New
Speaker 2: Hampshire does, and then we have South Carolina and it's
Speaker 2: off to the races. But it will make a difference
Speaker 2: what those numbers look like where they come in it will.
Speaker 2: You know, the media has tried to set the stage
Speaker 2: that he's not vulnerable, that he can win. I don't
Speaker 2: believe the polls. The same polls told us in this
Speaker 2: last election we were going to have a red tsunami
Speaker 2: across the country and that didn't happen. It did in Iowa,
Speaker 2: it did in Florida because we did what we said
Speaker 2: we were going to do and past policies that impact
Speaker 2: the people that we serve. But it wasn't the case
Speaker 2: across the country, and so people are leery of the polls.
Speaker 2: I'm not sure they're completely honest when they're answering them.
Speaker 2: And again, it's a kind of a luck of the
Speaker 2: draw because you're polling people that have maybe never gone
Speaker 2: to a caucus or not as engaged. So I think
Speaker 2: if he scores below fifty, it's like game on.
Speaker 1: I do have to ask, because we did all learn
Speaker 1: hard lessons in twenty sixteen to be prepared for more
Speaker 1: scenarios than we expect. If your state chooses Trump on Monday,
Speaker 1: would you support the ex president.
Speaker 2: I'm a Republican. Any one of the candidates that we
Speaker 2: have running will do a better job than the absentee
Speaker 2: president that we have serving. At this point, it is
Speaker 2: unbelievable what we see happening under this administration, and so
Speaker 2: without hesitation, I will do whatever I can to make
Speaker 2: sure that we have a president in the White House.
Speaker 2: I think it's going to be Ron DeSantis we need
Speaker 2: somebody that can serve for eight years, that knows how
Speaker 2: to work with Congress to get things done and accomplished.
Speaker 2: I'm a governor. We don't do it on our own.
Speaker 2: I have to work with the legislature. That's where the
Speaker 2: policy starts. I have to figure out a way to
Speaker 2: work with them and compromise and to continue to drive
Speaker 2: what I believe will be impactful for our eight That's
Speaker 2: what I've seen from Governor DeSantis, and that's what our
Speaker 2: country needs.
Speaker 1: So for your constituents, whoever's in the White House, as
Speaker 1: long as it's the Republican, you will find a way
Speaker 1: to work with.
Speaker 2: Oh. Oh absolutely, you know it's funny. Endorsements are endorsements.
Speaker 2: I will tell you this Islands are very independent. We
Speaker 2: take the first in the Nation caucus very seriously. They
Speaker 2: are still showing up. They are kicking the dyers, they
Speaker 2: are asking the questions, they are listening to the response.
Speaker 2: They're going to land where they land. I have really
Speaker 2: good friends. I have legislators that have lined up with
Speaker 2: different candidates. So that's just that's who we are and
Speaker 2: what we do. I'm going to do what I can
Speaker 2: to share Ron's vision and message and record, and then
Speaker 2: every i one will make up their own mind. But
Speaker 2: ultimately I believe you know, you'll see all of us
Speaker 2: unite in the inn and that's what we need to
Speaker 2: do to just get the country back on track.
Speaker 1: I want to talk a little bit more globally. There's
Speaker 1: data and polling that shows that voters in the US
Speaker 1: and America's friends and folks abroad wonder what is going
Speaker 1: to happen to the global order if not just if
Speaker 1: Trump's re elected. I want to move away from that.
Speaker 1: I want to talk about what happens if we don't
Speaker 1: have clear election results, or if the country can't unite
Speaker 1: behind the next administration. You're an influential voice in this country,
Speaker 1: a Republican voice. What do you make of those concerns
Speaker 1: from abroad.
Speaker 2: Well, it's a democratic process. We need to do everything
Speaker 2: we can to make sure that we adhere the integrity
Speaker 2: of the election. People have to know with great certainty
Speaker 2: that they can trust the electoral process. You've seen several
Speaker 2: states that have enhanced their policies when it comes to
Speaker 2: election integrity. We take it very serious. We've done it
Speaker 2: here in Iowa. So we need to continue to make
Speaker 2: the case not only are the constituents that we serve
Speaker 2: in a state by state basis, because it's ran by
Speaker 2: the states, and I think when we do that, then
Speaker 2: globally it'll have the same impact.
Speaker 1: And let's come back local. Then, Okay, you've told me
Speaker 1: about how prepared Iowans are for the caucus. They are
Speaker 1: kicking the tires. They have not already made their decision.
Speaker 1: They are really taking this seriously. What are the big
Speaker 1: issues for your state and your voters in this election.
Speaker 2: You know, it's the economy. I think it's safety. I
Speaker 2: think you know, when you look at what's happening at
Speaker 2: the southern border. Every single state is a border state
Speaker 2: right now and are filling the impacts of that. So
Speaker 2: they're concerned of that. We can't have an open border.
Speaker 2: We don't leave our homes unlocked at night. It's the
Speaker 2: same concept. We want to welcome people, but we want
Speaker 2: to make sure that we're protecting I think it's safety.
Speaker 2: It's the economy, inflation and safety.
Speaker 1: What are some of the conversations with your voters that
Speaker 1: have stuck with you as you've been out in support
Speaker 1: of disantas across the state.
Speaker 2: I think one of the things that they say when
Speaker 2: I've heard them, especially when they've said I'm in it.
Speaker 2: Did it for me tonight? Is his ability not to
Speaker 2: be afraid to answer tough questions, and they are wide ranging.
Speaker 2: I mean some of them have just been from left field,
Speaker 2: but his capacity to understand the question, understand the issue,
Speaker 2: and to have an answer or a vision or a policy.
Speaker 2: And many, many, many times he's already done it in Florida.
Speaker 2: So it's not a what if, here's what I would do,
Speaker 2: but he's able to point to something that he's actually done.
Speaker 2: When he makes a promise or when he says I'm
Speaker 2: going to do this, he's already thought it through. I mean,
Speaker 2: I'm a governor. And these are not little issues that
Speaker 2: he's talking about. He's taken on really big, tough issues.
Speaker 2: To be able to stand until there's no more questions now,
Speaker 2: be afraid of it, have an answer, policy to follow it.
Speaker 2: It is very, very affected. He is the most effective
Speaker 2: leader that I have seen in a long long time.
Speaker 2: And I mean that, Governor Reynold, thank you so much
Speaker 2: for your time. Thanks heaven a day you're in Iowa,
Speaker 2: let me know I will be okay, We'll see you then.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to Big Take DC from Bloomberg News.
Speaker 1: I'm Salaiah Mosen. This episode was produced by Julia Press
Speaker 1: and Naomi Shaven. It was fact checked by Laura Davison.
Speaker 1: A special thank you to my colleague Jennifer Jacobs. Blake
Speaker 1: Maples and Alex Sugia are our mix engineers. Our story
Speaker 1: editors are Michael Shephard and Wendy Benjaminson. Sage Bauman is
Speaker 1: our executive producer and head of Podcasts. Thanks for tuning in.
Speaker 1: I'll be back next week with a special dispatch from
Speaker 1: Iowa to unpack the results of the first in the
Speaker 1: nation caucus