Bob Vander Plaats, an influential evangelical leader in Iowa who endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last week fired back at Donald Trump on Saturday after the former president accused him “scamming” candidates in the GOP primary.
“Bob Vander Plaats, the former High School Accountant from Iowa, will do anything to win, something which he hasn’t done in many years. 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 wrote Saturday on Truth Social. “I don’t believe anything Bob Vander Plaats says. Anyone who would take $95,000, and then endorse a Candidate who is going nowhere, is not what Elections are all about!”
In August, Reuters published a report detailing how the DeSantis campaign, a super PAC linked to him and a nonprofit group supporting him together paid $95,000 to the Family Leader Foundation, led by Vander Plaats.
According to Reuters, the money was used to cover three pages of pro-DeSantis advertisements in a booklet distributed at a July presidential candidate forum hosted by Vander Plaats’ organization as well as tickets to the summit, lunch and an after-dinner event.
But, campaign finance experts told the outlet that the real value of the money was to build a relationship with Vander Plaats, whose endorsement is coveted in Iowa since evangelicals make up more than half of the GOP primary electorate.
Vander Plaats dismissed the notion that his endorsement was for sale in a post on X Saturday, while firing back at the former president.
“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,” Vander Plaats wrote. “And, Iowa will exhibit higher standards when they choose @RonDeSantis over a Chump.”
In subsequent posts, Vander Plaats claimed to have spoken to voters in Trump “strongholds” who said “they are done with [Trump]”.
“While they long to leave the topic of ‘golden showers’ and return to the discussion of gold standards,” he added. “The final straw…his lies about [Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds].”
Reynolds drew the ire of Trump by also endorsing DeSantis.
