Report: Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds Had Obscure Anti-Trump, Pro-DeSantis X Account

Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) had a now-suspended secondary X account with a highly obscure handle and low following where she reposted criticisms of former President Donald Trump, according to the New York Times.

The account, which goes by the handle @Kimberl26890376, was confirmed to be Reynolds’ by a source to the Times. She reportedly used her own name as the username and her own image as the avatar. X suspended the account on Friday morning for apparently violating its rules in some capacity. 

Per the outlet: 

Ms. Reynolds has had the @Kimberl26890376 account since 2021, according to X, but a majority of her 58 posts have come in recent months and are almost exclusively about the presidential primary. She has used reposts to promote Mr. DeSantis’s media appearances and amplify criticisms of Mr. Trump.

In one retweet to her 269 followers, she shared a post from an anti-Trump critic who said he demands “fealty” from others, according to the outlet, in addition to liking negative tweets about Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

“Trump has no loyalty but demands it from everyone else. That’s FEALTY. Which makes sense because these people want a king,” the post read. News of the account comes days before the Iowa Caucuses. 

The outlet reached out to Reynolds for comment, but she did not respond.

Reynolds is one of just two governors to endorse Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, along with Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK), doing so back on November 6. She declined to say if the field should consolidate behind DeSantis days after the interview while speaking with the Associated Press. 

“At some point, if we don’t narrow the field, it’s going to be hard to … maybe, you know, that helps Trump,” Reynolds told the Associated Press. “But I think that is for them to decide.”

In late November, after the endorsement, a Morning Consult poll of all governors’ approval ratings found that Reynolds is the second least popular governor in the nation with a net-neutral approval rating, as 48 percent give her positive marks and 48 percent disapprove of her performance. 

Only Gov. Tate Reeves (R-MS) had a worse rating at a net negative one (45-46).