Donald Trump To Pick Up Endorsement From Republican Governor

According to NBC News, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is set to endorse Donald Trump for president on Wednesday.

The outlet cited an unnamed source familiar with the matter.

Sanders will make the announcement at Trump’s rally in Florida, which will run simultaneously with the GOP primary debate in nearby Miami.

“It’s not a question between right versus left anymore,” Sanders said in a statement, according to NBC News.

“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,” she added.

Gov of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, officially endorses Trump:

“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.” pic.twitter.com/PjdXpU9ucl

— 🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) November 7, 2023

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to endorse Trump at Florida rally on Wednesday https://t.co/A9KUsm4Ayc

— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 7, 2023

More from NBC News:

Sanders, 41, is seen as a rising star in the Republican Party after getting elected governor in 2022. She is the first woman to serve as governor of Arkansas and the youngest governor in the country. Her father served in the same job from 1996-2007.

By choosing Trump, Sanders is bucking Asa Hutchinson, who preceded her as governor of Arkansas. He has run a campaign that has been deeply critical of Trump and is trailing the rest of the major GOP presidential candidates.

Sanders served as Trump’s White House press secretary from 2017 to 2019, and she delivered the GOP response to President Joe Biden’s most recent State of the Union speech.

“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.”

Here’s a flashback to one of Sanders’ ads while running for governor:

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders endorses President Trump! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/j9AQ9vWLBd

— Gary D (@KMGGaryde) November 7, 2023

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette added:

Trump endorsed Sanders in her gubernatorial bid, and shortly afterward opponents Leslie Rutledge and Tim Griffin dropped out of the governor’s race. Rutledge went on to be elected lieutenant governor, and Griffin was elected attorney general.

“We had great success in the White House and it’s an honor to have Sarah’s endorsement,” Trump said in a statement Monday evening. “I look forward to having her at the big rally in Hialeah this Wednesday.”

Sanders had previously declined to return the favor of Trump’s endorsement, according to a New York Times story from March. Trump had reportedly asked Sanders for an endorsement but she said at the time she “would not yet do so,” according to the story.

ADVERTISEMENT

In a post on Truth Social in March, Trump denied the New York Times story, saying “I never asked Sarah Huckabee Sanders for an endorsement. I give endorsements, I don’t generally ask for them. With that being said, nobody has done more for her than I have, with the possible exception of her great father, Mike!”

According to a July news report from Axios, Sanders’ refusal to endorse Trump for president had frustrated the former president.

Sanders’ is not the first person in her family to endorse Trump’s 2024 White House bid. Her father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, announced his support for the former Republican president in March.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson also seeks the Republican presidential nomination but has struggled to gain traction and has been unable to move past 1% in early national and state polls.