2 years ago
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds tried to thread the needle on Ukraine during the Republican State of the Union rebuttal, signaling support for its self-defense while blaming President Joe Biden for emboldening Russia.
“All Americans must stand united in solidarity with the brave people of Ukraine as they courageously defend their country against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s tyranny and fight for their freedom,” Reynolds said, wearing a pin bearing the U.S. and Ukraine flags.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has exposed faultlines among Republicans, complicating their efforts to counter-message Biden's handling of the issue.
Reynolds criticized the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan last year and suggested it was symbolic of the president’s misguided approach to global affairs.
“Weakness on the world stage has a cost, and the president's approach to foreign policy has consistently been too little, too late,” she said before pivoting to domestic issues. “We can’t project strength abroad if we are weak at home.”
Like other Republicans in recent months, Reynolds tied the pocketbook issues of inflation and rising gas prices to older voters’ memories of the Carter era.
“Instead of moving America forward, it feels like President Biden and his party have sent us back in time to the late ‘70s and early ‘80s when runaway inflation was hammering families, a violent crime wave was crashing on our cities, and the Soviet army was trying to redraw the world map,” she said.
Reynolds also tried to paint Biden as out of step with the image he presented on the campaign trail.
“The American people are left to feel like they’re the enemy,” she said. “This is not the same country it was a year ago. The president tried to paint a different picture tonight, but his actions over the last 12 months don’t match the rhetoric.”
The speech was something of a showcase for Reynolds, who in 2017 became the first female governor of Iowa who is up for reelection this fall. She said that governors like herself and others are providing a counterweight to the federal government.
“Republican governors and legislators are showing America what conservative leadership looks like,” she said.
Hours before her televised speech, Reynolds signed legislation to phase in a 3.9 percent flat income tax — a substantial overhaul in the state’s tax system. She pointed to that new law as an example of how Republican lawmakers are presenting an alternative to their Democratic counterparts.
“Republicans may not have the White House, but we are doing what we can to fill the leadership vacuum,” she said.
Reynolds has drawn plaudits from Republicans for her approach to many of the public health restrictions that have become cultural flash points in the pandemic era, while also advancing conservative priorities on taxes and social issues.
“Iowa was the first state in the nation to require that schools open their doors,” she said. “Keeping schools open is only the start of the pro-parent, pro-family revolution that Republicans are leading in Iowa and states across this country.”
She leaned on education issues — an area where Republicans believe they have a winning message heading into the midterm elections — including appealing to parents who are upset with the direction of their children’s schooling.
Reynolds has enjoyed strong public approval ratings from Iowans. She was underwater with voters in a March 2021 survey but has since rebounded.
She has even been mentioned as a potential running mate if former President Donald Trump chooses to run in 2024.
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