Brenna Bird's Big Adventure
The Iowa Attorney General's trip to the Trump trial in New York was a smart political move...
Governor Kim Reynolds, Brenna Bird, and other prominent Republicans visit Pella in November 2022.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird traveled to a New York City courtroom to be at the side of former President Donald Trump during his trial on Monday. The Iowa Capital Dispatch has the story.
Trump faces 34 felony counts in the case, having been accused of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who testified last week that she received a $130,000 payment during the 2016 election season for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter.
According to The Iowa Capital Dispatch, Bird denounced the prosecution of Trump.
“My background is as a prosecutor, and what I saw in that courtroom today is a travesty,” Bird said. “Politics has no place in a court of law. Politics should be out on the campaign trail. But instead, because of these charges that are a sham and a scam, he — our president, Trump — is tied up in court when he should be out on the campaign trail.”
The Republican attorney general said she is worried about “the future of our country if this is the direction that campaigns are going to take,” alleging that President Joe Biden is using the judicial system to influence the 2024 presidential election. Trump also faces criminal charges in cases related to allegedly removing classified documents from the White House, as well as in Georgia for allegedly attempting to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. He is also involved in multiple civil lawsuits, including one case, now on appeal, where he was ordered to pay $355 million for misrepresenting his wealth.
Bird said in a statement that it is clear that “Biden and his far-left allies will stop at nothing to silence President Trump’s voice and keep him off the campaign trail by keeping him tied up in court … It is wrong, it is election interference, and our country deserves better.”
My friend and fellow Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member Dave Busiek takes Bird to task in Questions for Iowa Attorney General Bird: Why declare the Trump trial a sham before the jury renders a verdict? Wednesday morning ten letters to the editor at the Des Moines Register hammered Bird for taking the trip. All are worth a read.
Dave’s critique is detailed, spot-on, and I agree. His piece is important because it reminds us of what ethics, integrity, and honesty used to mean in the Republican Party before Donald Trump took a wrecking ball to so many of our institutions. The fact of the matter is it’s not 2015 anymore, and the right is seeking to dismantle democracy. Now the only thing that matters to the MAGA leadership is power, and they will use any means possible to get it, and ethics, integrity, and honesty mean nothing.
“The end justifies the means.” Niccolò Machiavelli.
Bird’s trip to New York to support Trump was a smart political move.
I first interviewed her in 2009 or 2010 when she ran for AG only to lose to incumbent Democrat Tom Miller by 11 points. I interviewed her several more times over the years.
She’s smart, tough, and motivated. I was always impressed with her logic, compassion, and apparent respect for the rule of law. Or so I thought.
In New York on Monday she did well in her defense of Trump, moving seamlessly from her accustomed role as a prosecutor to defense “attorney”. She has been in that environment since law school and in this context not subject to any ethical considerations that a defense attorney might be bound to during a trial. Lies, ethics, and integrity were irrelevant.
In the MAGAverse, she did what she was expected to do for Trump, and excelled at it. If Trump asked her to kiss his ass, she would likely respond, “Which cheek?”
Rumors are that Kim Reynolds will not run for another term as Governor. If she doesn’t, I can only imagine the infighting behind the scenes among Iowa Republican legislators who will want the nomination. It will likely be all assholes and elbows.
Bird gave Trump an early endorsement in the 2024 Iowa Republican caucuses. Trump has already said that Bird would be a good governor. With Trump’s endorsement, Bird has positioned herself as the frontrunner for the nomination. Her trip to New York likely ensured his endorsement.
That’s one scenario. The other is that Bird would be an ideal candidate to be the compliant Attorney General Trump will be looking for should he become president.
Either way, Bird’s visit to New York was politically brilliant.
It’s big news that Lisa Bluder, legendary Women’s Basketball Coach at the University of Iowa, has retired. Two fellow Iowa Writers’ Collaborative members have columns on Bluder.
Daniel Finney: 40 years Lisa Bluder pass in a blink: retiring Iowa women's basketball coach raised her sport and her state to unprecedented heights.
Great colums! Check them out.
My friend Spencer Dirks and I have a podcast called “Iowa Revolution”. We talk about politics and much, much more. Click here to subscribe. It’s fun and sometimes wacky. Spencer often gets me out of my comfort zone…
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Thanks for the shout out, Bob. Bird’s trip to NYC May have been smart politically with the MAGA crowd, but it’s not playing well here at home among many other Iowans, including Republicans I’ve heard from who are offended that she went there on behalf of what she called “our state”. Perhaps if she had explicitly stated she was there as a private citizen, it might have made a slight difference. The larger issue is the damage that Bird, Johnson, Tubberville, Vance and others are doing to faith in our court system. If the case is a “scam”, let the jury decide that.
…” all assholes and elbows…” pretty much sums up a lot.