DES MOINES, Iowa — Gov. Kim Reynolds’s (R-IA) decision to endorse Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) before this week’s opening 2024 Republican primary contest ruffled a few feathers in Iowa.

But with former President Donald Trump‘s record-breaking win in this election cycle’s caucuses, it remains to be seen whether she will face political ramifications from her party’s likely nominee, who may forgive but probably will not forget.

Trump cited Reynolds as an example of disloyalty last weekend during his final rally in Iowa before the first votes of 2024 were cast in the Hawkeye State. In Indianola, the former president complained to likely caucusgoers that he helped Reynolds become governor when he nominated her predecessor, Terry Branstad, to be his ambassador to China. He said that Reynolds told him she would remain neutral during the primary season, to which he responded that he did not “want to ever see” her at any of his campaign events “again.”

“So, I don’t blame her for then picking somebody because we wouldn’t let her go to any rallies or anything,” he told the crowd. “But here’s the thing: She went from the most popular governor in the United States, in two weeks, to the least popular governor. She’s the least popular governor of the United States. But I just thought it was really disloyal. I mean, I just don’t understand it. I don’t understand it. And that happens in politics.”

At least according to a Morning Consult poll fielded last November, weeks after Reynolds’s DeSantis endorsement, her approval-disapproval rating was 48%-48%, making her the country’s least popular governor.

Reynolds did not acknowledge Trump’s attacks publicly nor respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment, but she was ardently defended by DeSantis and his supporters during his caucus eve rally.

“The reason why he throws shade is simply because she didn’t endorse him in the primary,” DeSantis said in Ankeny. “He’s running a campaign about putting himself and his issues first. That’s what he cares about. You can be the most worthless Republican in America, but if you kiss the ring, he’ll say, ‘You’re wonderful.’”

Not all Iowa Republicans are rushing to Reynolds’s defense. Dallas County Republican Party Chairwoman Kelley Koch, whose county caucused for Trump 1,978 votes to Haley’s 1,351 and DeSantis’s 1,271, expressed her disappointment in and shock at the governor for her endorsement.

“I mean, I’m a big fan of hers,” Koch said. “Kim Reynolds is queen in our state. She is the queen. And we all took a pledge to be neutral, and the word was, ‘Love all, serve all.’”

Iowa Democrats were more severe in their criticism, contending Reynolds is “out of touch” with Republicans in her own state and mocking her for being “no doubt, the biggest loser of the Iowa caucuses” because of her endorsement.

But as Attorney General Brenna Bird (R-IA), who hosted one of the Trump tele-rallies amid once-in-a-decade winter weather, downplays speculation she could succeed Reynolds, Koch similarly downplayed speculation regarding political consequences for the governor over the endorsement.

“She’s kind of untouchable. But I hate that. My bar is here,” Koch said, with her hand at eye level. “She is the queen of Iowa. She’s done so many great things, but it will be a little mark. And DeSantis, you’re following it, he was expected to get like a 7 [percentage] point bump. Didn’t happen. If anything, people in Iowa turn mad and disappointed because we wanted it to be fair. Let the people speak. Let people decide, not our elected leaders.”

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who declined to endorse anyone before the caucuses but attended DeSantis’s rally in Ankeny, in addition to an earlier event for former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in Ames, agreed.

“Oh well, Kim is a really good friend, and I don’t think overall that it will impact any future aspirations she has,” Ernst said. “She has been an exceptional governor, exceptional governor.”

In an interview before the caucuses, senior Trump adviser Jason Miller underscored the importance of the former president’s ground game, as opposed to endorsements, but he did assert that Reynolds did not do “herself any favors,” arguing DeSantis would be “lucky” to “get second place.”

“I’ll leave that to the voters of Iowa,” Miller said. “This is like going to the horse track, betting on a horse that loses, and then going up to the ticket counter and trying to cash it in. It doesn’t work.”

Arizona Republican Senate candidate and Trump supporter Kari Lake, who was raised in Iowa, was more critical of Reynolds’s endorsement, saying it demonstrated how she “doesn’t make great decisions.”

“I was disappointed in that because one of the things that I think Iowans value is loyalty,” Lake said. “You always hear about Iowa nice. Iowans make the best friends because they actually care about one another. And when somebody does something for you and is good to you, you reciprocate. President Trump was surely good to Gov. Reynolds. He endorsed her, but I think she just made kind of a bad decision there in supporting DeSantis.”

“Hopefully, she’ll come around after Monday and pick up the phone and call President Trump and say, ‘How can I help? I wish I would have endorsed you. But now I’m on the Trump train, and I’m going to help whatever way I can,’” she added. “I think that President Trump is a forgiving guy, and he’ll welcome her support. I mean, obviously, I’m sure he wishes he had it sooner, but I think eventually, she’ll figure out the direction this country is going in. This country is going in the direction of we must put our country first and our needs first, or we won’t have a country much longer.”

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John Engelhardt, 60, was a rare Trump supporter who did not hold Reynolds’s endorsement against her, repeating that she “should have endorsed whoever” she “wanted to endorse.”

“That’s her prerogative, and I respect that,” the Waukee handyman said. “I’m glad she wasn’t swayed by the polls or anything else. I think she endorsed who she wanted to. I like Gov. Reynolds. I hope she doesn’t have national ambitions. I want her here.”