Bob Vander Plaats, the influential Iowa evangelical leader, said he has conferred with Reynolds several times and acknowledged her decision will influence him as he prepares to make an endorsement in the presidential race in the coming weeks.
He has spoken positively about DeSantis, so much that Trump has already called into question any potential endorsement due to $95,000 the DeSantis operation paid to Vander Plaats’ Family Leader Foundation ahead of its annual summit in July.
For Reynolds, her endorsement of DeSantis was not only a statement of support for him — but a pointed rebuke of Trump, who publicly criticized her earlier this year for what he perceived as disloyalty. On Truth Social, he predicted her support for DeSantis would trigger the “end of her political career.”
“She’s a professional, but she’s still a person. I don’t think it helped President Trump’s case — his comments toward her,” Vander Plaats said.