Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders endorsed former President Donald Trump for a second term in a statement reported by NBC News on Monday.
The governor, who served as the Trump administration’s press secretary for two years and delivered the GOP’s response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech in February, will officially announce her endorsement at a Wednesday Trump rally in Florida, the Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed. Sanders slammed Biden and other Democrats in a statement to NBC News for “doubling down on crazy” and insisted that America must return Trump to the White House in 2024.
“It’s not a question between right versus left anymore,” Sanders told NBC News in a statement. “It’s normal versus crazy, and President Biden and the left are doubling down on crazy. 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.”
“We had great success in the White House and it’s an honor to have Sarah’s endorsement,” Trump said in a statement. “I look forward to having her at the big rally in Hialeah this Wednesday.”
NBC News first reported that Sanders would announce the endorsement during an appearance at Trump’s rally Wednesday, via a source familiar.
The Trump rally in Hialeah, Florida, will take place during the same time frame as the Republican National Committee’s third GOP debate in Miami, which the former president is skipping as he did the first two.
Sanders opted to endorse her former boss for president rather than her predecessor, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has focused his campaign largely on criticizing Trump. She overwhelmingly secured the seat in the 2022 midterms, with Trump’s backing, defeating her Democratic challenger by nearly 30 points.
The RealClearPolitics average for a 2024 national Republican primary, based on polls conducted between Oct. 12 and Nov. 5, indicates Trump is leading the crowded field by roughly 45 points.
Sanders did not immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Mary Lou Masters on November 7, 2023
