Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds: 'Stop pointing fingers' in wake of Trump supporters mobbing U.S. Capitol

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Originally published Jan. 7, 2021.

Although she condemned the violence resulting from a mob of President Donald Trump's supporters storming the nation's Capitol, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds declined any personal responsibility Thursday by not acknowledging President-elect Joe Biden's victory earlier.

Reynolds, a Republican and a Trump supporter, acknowledged Biden's victory during a virtual forum with Iowa journalists and noted that Congress has certified his election. She defended people who had not previously accepted the Democrat's victory.

"What we need to do is stop pointing fingers, and we need to move forward," Reynolds said.

A mob of Trump supporters left a Trump rally Wednesday, where the president said he would never concede the election and claimed the election was stolen, to storm the nation's Capitol. Even after officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, were evacuated from the Capitol for their safety, Trump tweeted, "USA demands the truth!"

Shortly thereafter, Trump took to social media to urge peace — but only after encouraging their rage with continued disproven claims about the election being stolen. He signed off by telling the mob he loved them.

Twitter initially limited the spread of the message, citing concerns it would incite violence. Trump was eventually suspended from that platform, as well as Facebook and Instagram.

Reynolds campaigned repeatedly with Trump in Iowa this fall, and encouraged Iowans to show up to the rallies, despite the state being on the precipice of a devastating wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump ended up winning Iowa's electoral votes.

Asked Thursday if she was still proud of her support of affiliation with Trump, and if she regretted not acknowledging Biden's victory, she said Americans need to come together.

"We need to stop the rhetoric and we need to sit at the table and we need to have constructive conversations," Reynolds said. "And you know, part of that is putting the phone down, getting off social media and really figuring out how we can come to the table and work together."

She opened her remarks to journalists by condemning the violence at the nation's Capitol and urging the perpetrators to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

"That's not how we resolve our differences in the greatest country on earth, and it absolutely is not who we are as Americans," Reynolds said. "There's no doubt that this has been a very difficult year, but we all have a role to play in dialing down the rhetoric."

Reynolds defended people who questioned the election result and said there should be a process to ensure people have confidence in integrity of elections. She questioned the harm of a process to reaffirm election results when they aren't "self-evident."

Four people died Wednesday, three in medical emergencies and one shot by police, in the Capitol chaos. More than a dozen law enforcement officials and many Trump supporters were injured; many windows were smashed; and furniture and equipment were destroyed in the melee. 

Most states already conduct post-election audits to ensure the election systems functioned properly. According to the Associated Press, no state has reported widespread fraud. 

"When you have half of the electorate that feels that maybe something is not valid, then that's a concern for our republic, and we want to do everything we can to to address that," Reynolds said. "You can't shut people down, but you also you have to do it in a respectful manner. Violence isn't the answer."

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