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Bob Vander Plaats, an influential Iowa evangelical leader, has hit back at Donald Trump after the former president accused him of “scamming” candidates.
Vander Plaats, the president of the Family Leader Foundation, endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this week, telling Fox News that Republicans “need to find somebody who can win” in 2024.
DeSantis has been trailing Trump in polls, but Vander Plaats’ backing could give him a boost in Iowa’s Republican caucus, where evangelicals are a crucial voting bloc.
The Christian conservative leader’s endorsement triggered Trump’s ire, with the former president taking to his Truth Social platform to criticize Vander Plaats for backing “a candidate who is going nowhere.”
“Bob Vander Plaats, the former High School Accountant from Iowa, will do anything to win, something which he hasn’t done in many years,” Trump wrote in a post on Saturday.
“He’s more known for scamming Candidates than he is for Victory, but now he’s going around using Disinformation from the Champions of that Art, the Democrats.”
Trump added: “I don’t believe anything Bob Vander Plaats says,” he continued. “Anyone who would take $95,000, and then endorse a Candidate who is going nowhere, is not what Elections are all about!”
He was referring to a Reuters report from August that detailed how the DeSantis campaign, a super PAC linked to him and a nonprofit together paid $95,000 to the Family Leader Foundation.
According to Reuters, the money paid for three pages of advertisements in a booklet that was distributed at a July presidential candidate forum attended by 2,000 Christian conservatives, as well as tickets to the event, lunch and an after-dinner event.
Vander Plaats hit back at Trump on Saturday night.
“LOL @realDonaldTrump is the only candidate…EVER…who thought my endorsement would be for sale. He found out, and @Reuters validated, I live by higher standards,” he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“And, Iowa will exhibit higher standards when they choose @RonDeSantis over a Chump.”
In another post on the platform, Vander Plaats said he had spoken with people at a Trump stronghold in Iowa.
Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
“Person to Person told me they are done with him,” he wrote, adding that the “final straw” was Trump’s lies about Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Trump has also lashed out at the Iowa governor for her backing of DeSantis earlier this month.
And in response to Vander Plaat’s endorsement, Trump’s campaign sent out an email saying, “Kim Reynolds’ endorsement won’t save Ron DeSanctus, and neither will Vander Plaat$’ endorsement,” said the Trump campaign statement, using a nickname Trump commonly uses for the Florida governor.
Newsweek contacted the Trump campaign via email and Vander Plaats through the Family Leader Foundation for further comment overnight. This article will be updated if a response is received.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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