Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said Thursday there are "a lot of questions" about the results of the presidential election and expressed sympathy for Americans who still don't believe that Democrat Joe Biden won.
The Republican governor condemned the violence by pro-Trump extremists at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, but did not condemn President Donald Trump's unproven claims about widespread election fraud that helped incite the mob.
At a forum hosted by the Iowa Capitol Press Association, Reynolds was asked if she is still proud of her closeness to Trump and if she regrets not recognizing Biden as the President-elect sooner.
"You know what we need to do is stop pointing fingers, and we need to move forward," Reynolds said. "And we need to stop rhetoric, and we need to sit at the table and have constructive conversations. And 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 and move forward."
Reynolds has been a major supporter of Trump, and appeared on stage at his campaign rally in Des Moines in October. On Thursday, she referred to Biden as the President-elect.
“Last night, Congress…certified the electoral results. I believe President Trump said this morning there will be a peaceful transition,” Reynolds said. “And we also need to though—there are a lot of questions out there. We can still move forward in a peaceful transition and figure out some way to responsibly take a look at making sure that the people feel that the integrity of our election process is intact.”
Violence has already marred the presidential transition with Wednesday’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol interrupting the electoral college vote certification. Biden is scheduled to be inaugurated Jan. 20.
Reynolds went on to say “we shouldn’t be afraid” to ask questions about the election process. She said the concerns of those who don’t believe the results need to be addressed.
“And you know it has to be self-evident,” Reynolds said. “They can’t just be told. Americans can’t be told it is. They have to believe it. It has to be transparent, it has to be secure, it has to be strict, and it has to be fair.”
Courts across the country have ruled over and over again that Trump’s campaign and allies presented no evidence of voter fraud widespread enough to change the election results.
Iowa’s six members of Congress all voted to accept the Electoral College votes and did not object to any state's results. But the five Republicans have also raised questions about election procedures used in other states.
