Amid criticism over her reduced access to reporters in recent weeks, embattled incumbent Gov. Kim Reynolds on Monday refused to take a position on President Trump’s demonization of the news media, according to a report in the Des Moines Register.
Asked by a reporter if she agreed with Trump calling journalists “the enemy of the people” — which he has done repeatedly in the past, and did again Sunday morning on Twitter — the governor refused to take a stand.
The Fake News hates me saying that they are the Enemy of the People only because they know it’s TRUE. I am providing a great service by explaining this to the American People. They purposely cause great division & distrust. They can also cause War! They are very dangerous & sick!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2018
“Listen, I have no problems dealing with the media asking questions,” Reynolds reportedly said. “I am not going to weigh in on what the president is saying. I am the governor of Iowa. I am very accessible. I pride myself on being accessible.”
In fact, she hasn’t been for the past several weeks, as Associated Press reporter Barbara Rodriguez and other observers have documented. In mid-July, Reynolds discontinued her weekly press conferences, an Iowa tradition started by the late former Gov. Robert Ray, who like Reynolds was a Republican, and continued by the governor’s predecessor, Terry Branstad. When Reynolds announced Susan Christensen as her nominee to fill a state Supreme Court seat last week, she took no questions from the press. And last week she also kicked reporters out of a meeting she held with farmers in southeast Iowa concerned about Trump’s escalating trade war with China that has already put hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iowa farm profits in jeopardy with the Chinese government targeting soybeans and pork in retaliation.
While Reynolds has been accessible at several public events, the setup gives her all the power to not take Qs. She didn’t take Qs after announcing Supreme Court pick this week. She hasn’t had regular press conference since July 18. None scheduled next week. #iagov #iapolitics
— Barbara Rodriguez (@bcrodriguez) August 3, 2018
