President Donald Trump now says he wasn’t “given the proper information” before he endorsed U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra for governor, days before Iowa’s primary election.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on June 11, Trump bragged about his “amazing track record” in GOP primaries, claiming, “Every time I endorse, they win.”
A journalist followed up to ask whether the president regretted backing Feenstra in Iowa.
“The man running against him was all Trump,” he replied, adding that this was “the only one out of hundreds of races” where his preferred candidate lost. He went on:
There’s a gentleman in Georgia [sic] that I endorsed, who was much less Trump than the other man that won, as you know.
And had I been given the proper information, which I don’t think I was, I probably would have endorsed the other person, but—or not endorsed at all. But I would have endorsed the other person.
The other person was much more Trump, as you know, than Randy.
I’ve cued up the official White House video to that exchange.
It’s quite a reversal from what Trump posted to Truth Social on May 29, and again the night before the primary: “Randy is MAGA all the way!” and “WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”
The president’s new line echoes what Zach Lahn, the surprise winner of the primary, was saying in the run-up to the election.
Lahn told an audience in Ankeny on May 31, “I believe the president got bad advice. And I don’t know which one of the groups that was lined up against our campaign and got into his ear, but I believe he had bad advice. Because if he saw what was going around on the ground right here, he would be standing up here right now saying we need to elect Zach Lahn as the next governor of Iowa.”
Confidential tips are welcome on who talked Trump into a last-ditch effort to salvage Feenstra’s remarkably weak campaign. As Lahn suggested, his rhetoric drew opposition from some powerful interest groups. At his campaign events, he routinely called for breaking up Big Ag monopolies and blocking eminent domain for CO2 pipelines. He also accused corporations of lying about their harmful products and speculated that glyphosate and other farm chemicals may be linked to Iowa’s rising cancer rate.
Another possible voice in the president’s ear: former Governor and U.S. Ambassador Terry Branstad. Not only is he a longtime Trump ally, he had endorsed Feenstra and was a senior policy advisor to Summit Carbon Solutions, which wants to build that CO2 pipeline across Iowa.
Other members of Iowa’s Congressional delegation, several of whom backed Feenstra for governor last year, might also have pushed the White House to weigh in.
Theories on who didn’t give Trump “the proper information” are welcome in this thread.
Top photo: President Donald J. Trump signs the Secure America Act in the Oval Office on June 10, 2026. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
4 Comments
It's very interesting to read about the opposition to Lahn from powerful interest groups.
Zach Lahn has said a lot of things about agriculture, and some of them are easier to interpret than others. What I’ve read about his opposition to eminent domain seems fairly straightforward. His proposal for “independent state safety tests” in regard to pesticides(??) is not.
His official proposal regarding “clean water,” however, wouldn’t make me lose any sleep if I were the Iowa Farm Bureau. The one-line misspelled statement on his campaign website only says he wants to continue the same failing policy that the Iowa Farm Bureau loves and that Iowa is using already.
PrairieFan Thu 11 Jun 8:23 PM
Swing and a miss
Feenstra endorsement was a head scratcher as my Republican friends can’t stand him. I could have seen him lose easily to Sand, perhaps with “DeJear” type numbers. For those with short memories DeJear was the most recent Democratic nominee for governor who earned 39% of the vote in 2022. Sand would have sailed to Terrace Hill against Feenstra and provided some coattails for down ticket candidates. Sand-Lahn should be a nail-bitter. Can Rob effectively run from the middle supporting some vouchers while focusing on economic issues?
ModerateDem Sun 14 Jun 9:54 AM
RE: DeJear Numbers
I remember looking at county breakdowns after the 22 governor’s race. DeJear won the 4 of the largest counties in Iowa by which tend to lean D (Polk, Linn, Johnson, Story) by margins of 5% (Linn) to 40%l (Johnson)
She also lost counties under 10K population by margins up to near 90%. I don’t see that happening to Sand.
OatFarmer Mon 15 Jun 8:51 AM
Rob Sand
I would like to hear more from Rob Sand on his support for some vouchers. Last time out I couldn’t vote for Deidre Dejear because she’s a socialist, went for Rick Stewart. Mainstream candidates tend to do much better in Iowa.
iowan since 1960 Wed 17 Jun 9:04 AM