Sarah Huckabee Sanders to endorse Trump at rally opposite Republican debate
Former White House press secretary and current Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will endorse her former boss, Donald Trump, at his rally in Hialeah, Fla., Wednesday night, her office told The Post Tuesday.
Sanders, 41, famously served as Trump’s chief spokesperson from July 2017 to July 2019 before winning the Arkansas governorship in 2022.
“It’s not a question between right versus left anymore. It’s normal versus crazy, and President Biden and the left are doubling down on crazy,” Sanders said in a statement.
“The time has come to return to the normal policies of the Trump era which created a safer, stronger, and more prosperous America, and that’s why I am proud to endorse Donald Trump for President.”
Trump’s Hialeah rally will serve as counterprogramming to the third Republican primary debate in downtown Miami, about 10 miles away.
The 77-year-old former president has given all three debates a miss, citing his wide lead in the GOP primary polls.
Sanders had kept her powder dry on an endorsement for nearly a year after Trump launched his 2024 campaign on Nov. 15, 2022, one week after her election victory in Arkansas.
Her longstanding neutrality had irked Trump, who prizes loyalty among his current and former lieutenants, according to multiple reports.
In September, Sanders repeatedly refused to endorse the 45th president during an appearance on Fox News, saying that her “focus has been on being governor of Arkansas.”
Her endorsement comes on the heels of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ blockbuster backing of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Monday.
An endorsement from a sitting Iowa governor ahead of the state’s Republican caucuses last happened in 1996, when then-Gov. Terry Branstad backed Bob Dole, though Branstad also called for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to be defeated in 2016.
Trump’s team shrugged off Reynolds’ endorsement, underscoring his polling dominance in the Hawkeye State.
The former president applauded Sanders for finally giving him her support.
“We had great success in the White House and it’s an honor to have Sarah’s endorsement. I look forward to having her at the big rally in Hialeah this Wednesday,” Trump said in a statement.
Sanders’ predecessor as Arkansas governor, Asa Hutchinson, has been vying for the party nod as well, but has failed to make the cut for the second and third debate.
Sanders is also the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2008 and 2016.
Trump currently has the endorsement of six sitting governors, the most of any candidate in the Republican race.
