Former President Donald Trump shared his displeasure with a popular Iowa evangelical leader on Saturday, calling Bob Vander Plaats a “scammer” after he endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Trump shared his thoughts on Saturday while posting a rant on his social media platform Truth Social.
“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. “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 continued saying that he didn’t believe anything Vander Plaats said and alleged that he took money for his endorsement.
“Anyone who would take $95,000, and then endorse a Candidate who is going nowhere, is not what Elections are all about!” Trump wrote.
While speaking with Fox News’s Brett Baier on Tuesday, Vander Plaats offered his support for DeSantis, saying that the GOP needed to choose someone who “can win in 2024.”
“Gov. DeSantis took a reliable toss-up state in Florida and made it complete red, won by 20 points, won in demographics that we haven’t won in,” Vander Plaats said. “But he’s also done that by being a bold and courageous leader.”
The evangelical leader isn’t the only Iowan to support DeSantis’ candidacy, as Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds also backed the Florida governor earlier this month. Trump responded to that endorsement as well, calling Reynolds “disloyal” and saying it would be the “end of her political career” as “MAGA would never support her again.”
As for Vander Plaats, he also talked about the losses that the GOP suffered in the last election, noting that the “supposedly red wave really only happened in Florida and in Iowa.”
Trump was quick to respond to the support Vander Plaats offered DeSantis, who remains one of his main rivals for the GOP nominee.
The Trump campaign sent a mocking email to his supporters after the endorsement with the subject line saying, “Bob Vander Plaat$ Endorses A Candidate Who Will Never Be President.”
“Over 150 faith leaders in Iowa are organizing their congregations for President Trump, and not a single one demanded nearly $100k like Bob Vander Plaat$ did from Ron DeSanctus,” the campaign said in a statement. “When you are actually the leader of a movement like President Trump is, people are willing to support you for free.”
In the post on social media, Trump distanced himself from both Reynolds and Vander Plaats, urging his supporters to do the same.
“Two extremely disloyal people getting together is, however, a very beautiful thing to watch,” he wrote on Truth Social. “They can now remain loyal to each other because nobody else wants them!!!”