FACT CHECK: No, Crowd Did Not Chant ‘We Want Trump’ During Kim Reynolds’ Speech Endorsing Ron DeSantis
A viral video shared on X, formerly Twitter, purports a crowd chanted “We want Trump” during Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ recent speech endorsing Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for president.
That went well. pic.twitter.com/f1qF8Es5WK
— JoMa (@joma_gc) November 7, 2023
Verdict: False
The video is digitally altered. No pro-Trump chants could be heard in the original video published via C-SPAN. In addition, audio of a remark made by Reynolds stems from the Iowa State Fair, which took place back in August.
Fact Check:
Reynolds said she thinks DeSantis is the best Republican candidate to win the 2024 presidential election, according to The Associated Press. Reynolds broke the tradition of Iowa governors remaining neutral in the race by endorsing DeSantis for president, the outlet reported.
The X video, viewed nearly 11 million times, purports the crowd chanted “We want Trump” during Reynolds’ speech endorsing DeSantis. “We’ll stop until you do,” Reynolds appears to say in response to the crowd. “Hey, you know what? We’re in Iowa and and in Iowa, we’re ‘Iowa Nice,'” she adds.
The video is digitally altered, however. No pro-Trump chants could be heard in the original video published via C-SPAN. In addition, Reynolds’ remark about being “Iowa Nice” stems from the Iowa State Fair, which took place back in August. A YouTube video from Forbes Breaking News shows DeSantis speaking with Reynolds at the fair when he is interrupted by hecklers. Reynolds responds to the hecklers by saying, “We’ll stop until you do,” before adding her “Iowa Nice” comment.
“At a fair-side chat with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) shut down a bunch of hecklers,” the video’s description reads.
Likewise, DeSantis did not reference the purported pro-Trump chants when he posted a clip of Reynolds’ endorsement speech to his verified X account.
“It is an honor to be endorsed by Iowa’s great governor, @KimReynoldsIA. Kim has led her state with strength and principle — and delivered big results. She knows how to win the tough fights needed to get things done. Together, we will win Iowa,” DeSantis captioned the clip.
Reynolds also has not publicly commented on the purported claim. (RELATED: No, Donald Trump Did Not Endorse Brandon Presley For Mississippi Governor)
Finally, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports suggesting pro-Trump chants occurred during Reynolds’ speech endorsing DeSantis.
Check Your Fact has contacted both Reynolds’ and DeSantis’ offices for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.