Photo credit: Dave Davidson (Prezography.com)
Former Alaska Governor and 2008 Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin threw her support behind real estate mogul Donald Trump less than two weeks before the Iowa Caucuses on February 1 during a campaign rally on Tuesday in Ames, IA.
You can watch her endorsement speech below.
She passed over endorsing U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina both of whom Palin endorsed during their Senate races. The Trump endorsement is not a surprise to me. She has spoken positively about Trump on numerous occasions. She evidently sees Trump as the most anti-establishment candidate in the field. This is yet another example of Palin “going rogue” in the eyes of the establishment and mainstream media.
There’s no doubt that if Trump won the nomination and the presidency there would be a shake-up in DC. We can argue whether or not that would be a good thing. What can’t be said is that Trump is the most conservative candidate in the race. That has been a standard for Palin with past endorsements, but apparently isn’t the case this time around.
I like Palin, I supported her in 2008 and have liked her since. I happen to disagree with this choice. I think she could have found an anti-establishment candidate in Ted Cruz (after all he earned Terry Branstad’s anti-endorsement), as well as, a constitutional conservative that Palin typically endorses.
I’m not going to speculate what kind of impact Palin’s endorsement will have on the race. I don’t think it’s controversial to say that her influence isn’t as strong as it once was, but hers is still a coveted endorsement.
Trump still has to have the organization in Iowa to capitalize and that’s a big question mark that an endorsement from Palin does not answer.
Disclosure: This writer has endorsed Ted Cruz for President of the United States.