Trump PAC attacks Casey DeSantis over call for people to go to Iowa caucus

Donald Trump's political action committee on Saturday ripped Casey DeSantis by accusing of her of calling for cheating in next month's Iowa caucus.

"Casey DeSantis’ embrace of voter fraud to salvage her husband’s failing campaign is not just wrong, it risks compromising the integrity of the Iowa Caucus," said a statement issued by Karoline Leavitt, spokeswoman for Make America Great Again Inc. "This type of irresponsible and desperate rhetoric must be addressed by both Ron DeSantis and Governor Kim Reynolds, who campaigned for election integrity and was elected to protect the votes of Iowans."

MAGA Inc. called on governors DeSantis and Reynolds to "reject and condemn these comments and apologize" to Iowans.

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The statement followed an appearance by Florida's first lady on Fox News in which she said: "We're asking all of these moms and grandmoms to come, from wherever it might be — North Carolina, South Carolina — and to descend upon the state of Iowa to be a part of the caucus. Because you do not have to be a resident of Iowa to be able to participate in the caucus."

It is not clear why Casey DeSantis issued the plea, but the Iowa Republican Party subsequently issued a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, clarifying that she was wrong. "Remember: you must be a legal resident of Iowa and the precinct you live in and bring photo ID with you to participate in the #iacaucus!" the GOP posting read.

Casey DeSantis later walked back her appeal by issuing her own post on X letting it be known that only registered voters in Iowa will be allowed to participate in the Jan. 15 caucus, and added that her call was for volunteers to help her husband's campaign. At a campaign appearance Friday evening in West Des Moines, she again stated her call was for supporters of her Mamas for DeSantis to pitch in and help in Iowa.

Information from the Des Moines Register was used in this report.

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump PAC says Casey DeSantis embraces 'voter fraud' for Iowa caucus