AMES, Iowa – Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump received a key endorsement Tuesday from conservative heavyweight Sarah Palin, giving the billionaire businessman a potential boost with some voters less than two weeks before voting begins with the Iowa caucuses.
“Media heads are spinning,” Palin said after taking the stage at a Trump rally at Iowa State University. “This is going to be so much fun.”
She said that, with Trump as president, America would no longer apologize.
“No more pussy-footing around,” Palin said, adding that Trump would allow the military do its job and destroy the Islamic State group. “He’s going rogue left and right. That’s why he’s doing so well.”
“I am greatly honored to receive Sarah’s endorsement,” Trump said in a statement announcing the support of the former Alaska governor and former running mate of Sen. John McCain in his 2008 bid for the White House. “She is a friend, and a high-quality person whom I have great respect for. I am proud to have her support.”
Palin will also be joining Trump at two events Wednesday, including a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The endorsement comes less than two weeks ahead of the critical lead-off Iowa caucus, where Trump is locked in a dead heat with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
In the statement announcing the endorsement, Trump’s campaign described Palin as a conservative who “helped launch the careers of several key future leaders of the Republican Party and conservative movement.” The statement also quoted Cruz as once saying he “would not be in the United States Senate were it not for Gov. Sarah Palin. … She can pick winners.”
Campaigning in New Hampshire, Tuesday, Cruz said, “Regardless of what Sarah intends to do in 2016, I will remain a big, big fan of Sarah Palin.”
Trump’s national political director Michael Glassner previously worked with Palin, who was a virtual newcomer to the national political arena when McCain named her as his running mate. She has since risen to prominence as one of the most outspoken conservatives in the party.
She signed on as a Fox News commentator after resigning as Alaska’s governor in 2010, a job she held until last year.
Asked Tuesday morning about his thoughts on a potential Palin endorsement, as rumors of her potential backing swirled, Trump said, “I’m a big fan of Sarah Palin.”
While Trump said he doesn’t typically put much stock in endorsements, he said, “I think it could very well result in votes.”
In an interview with the Empire on Tuesday, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker said of the endorsement, “I’m not surprised.”
• Juneau Empire reporter James Brooks contributed to this story.
