Bob Vander Plaats: Americans Are ‘Exhausted’ By Trump's Complaints About The Past

VANDER PLAATS: “Well, first of all, President Trump knows better than anybody that my endorsement has never been and never will be for sale. So it has nothing to do with any type of money that is being paid or anything like that. I know that’s what they want to claim, but that is not the case. What we are trying to do is we believe 2024 is the most important election of our lifetime. We believe we need to choose and choose well. So I think you want to go to an experienced leader who has accomplished results versus somebody that I truly believe he may be able to win the nomination in President Trump, but I don’t think America is going to elect him president again. And I think what we need do is find that next generation leader.”
BAIER: “Yeah. Do you think, Bob — sorry to interrupt — that we were looking at this video of evangelical leaders kind of praying with the president in the Oval Office, do you think that there has been a split among the evangelical community, looking at President Trump, and how they view him in the wake of the end of his presidency? What do you think has changed?”
VANDER PLAATS: “Well, there is no doubt the evangelical community, first of all, they have great admiration for the former president. He did a lot of great things. That said, I think they also know that it’s probably now time to turn the page. They’re a little bit exhausted by the constant indictments, the constant complaint about the past. We need to embrace somebody who has got a vision for the future. And that’s why, even after the Thanksgiving family forum on Friday, we had several come up and say that they were looking at caucusing for the former president, but now they are going to go with Ron DeSantis. I think DeSantis is making the case. I think Governor Reynolds’ endorsement of Ron DeSantis is a key play in the state of Iowa. And if Iowa launches a Ron DeSantis, then it gives gist New Hampshire a new look, South Carolina a new look, and you have a real primary that’s going to take place.”
BAIER: “And just to clarify something you said about the money thing, this is, I think, from a Reuters article in which it said that, ‘DeSantis’ campaign super PAC linked to him, a nonprofit group supporting him, together paid $95,000 in recent months to the Family Leader Foundation, according to campaign finance reports and the document prepared by an Iowa state lawmaker who was helping Vander Plaats’ organization raise money for the July 14th presidential candidate forum.’ So is that not true or that’s true?”
VANDER PLAATS: “Well, it’s definitely true. And I would encourage everybody to read the Reuters article. Everything we do is above board and in sunlight. We have a leadership summit that’s a major thing. IRS rules prevent us from giving donations to a campaign or giving access to a campaign. And so not only Ron DeSantis, but Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, and others, I mean, if they wanted to be at a dinner, they wanted to be promoted in a program, they had to pay for that. But Trump is hanging his hat on that. That’s not the case at all. We are trying to find the best person who can win the nomination and then win the general election and lead for America.”