Sarah Huckabee Sanders joins Trump campaign



By Daniel Strauss

02/25/16 03:35 PM EST

Updated 02/25/16 03:50 PM EST

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, previously the campaign manager for the Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's 2016 presidential effort, has joined Donald Trump’s campaign.

Huckabee Sanders, the daughter of the former governor of Arkansas, will serve as a senior adviser for the campaign.

“I volunteered to join Mr. Trump’s campaign because he is a champion of working families; not Washington-Wall Street elites. Like the other Republican candidates, Mr. Trump is pro-life, pro-marriage, and will appoint conservatives to the courts. What makes Mr. Trump my choice for president is he will break the grip of the donor class on our government and make it accountable to working families again. I’m honored to help Mr. Trump Make America Great Again,” Huckabee Sanders said in a statement released through the Trump campaign.

The move is in contrast to another top Huckabee alumna, Alice Stewart, who left the campaign before it ended to join Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign as a senior adviser on the communications team. Stewart is now the communications director for Cruz.

Trump is scheduled to be in Arkansas on Saturday, ahead of the March 1 Super Tuesday contests.

There's been speculation that Huckabee himself will endorse Trump. Huckabee shot down rumors that he would throw his support behind the real estate mogul during a January stop in Arkansas by Trump.

"I can rule out any possibility—I'm not endorsing anybody this week," Huckabee said at the time, according to The Weekly Standard.

This is more support for my theory that the Gov is positioning himself to be considered for Trump's VP. The deal may already be done.

After watching some of the back and forth in tonight's debate I think anyone who believes Trump will choose Cruz or Rubio for running mate is delusional.

They are an odd couple on the surface Huck and Trump but are very similar in their populist viewpoints. If our nation had these 2 leading our country I could take my tin foil hat off for good.

I wish Trump was a more polished candidate but this is his first political rodeo.

I also wrestle with the moral conflicts of voting for a man who has not led the most perfect of lives and still confuses me on many of his positions. I admire his courage in fighting illegal immigration. That has to stop. Whether anyone realizes it or not we are in the midst of a internal war and the future of our country is at stake. History may show that it is actually WWIII being fought on the political battlefield. I am glad America ended up with George Patton leading us to victory in WWII. If anyone has ever listened to one of Patton's speeches you will realize you are not in Sunday school.

Maybe Trump is the Patton of this war for our nation and we better get over the crudeness, brashness, and conflicts in our minds and turn it over to a pro.

I'm glad I don't have to vote in any primary right now... who would I vote for? Rubio is a good man, I believe, and a committed Christian, but with the bigger part of the establishment funding him, nothing will change in Washington with him as president.

Cruz I don't have to talk about - he's a no-option, most Huckabee supporters are aware of his insincere setup and campaign tactics.

Trump is a wild card. I don't like the guy's crudeness. I don't know if I could vote for him in a primary. I would definitely vote for him in the general (and I believe he will win handily against Hillary). He may turn out to be a very helpful president. He may turn out to be just as bad as Hillary. I do welcome the shake-up that he brings to the Republican party.

I see as well quite some overlap in approach, if not in temperament, between Huckabee and Trump. The book that Huckabee published at the outset of his campaign ("God, Guns, Grits and Gravy") defined how Huck sees himself: As a protector of the "unprotected" (cf. the article I posted in the General News section by Peggy Noonan). Plus Huckabee is the staunch defender of life and marriage and religious liberty virtues. Trump's appeal is a lot similar in the populist area. Plus he is a celebrity, a strong man, etc. etc.

At this point in time, I am pretty sure the next president of the United States is going to be Donald Trump. However good or bad that may be (- and I doubt that will be worse than Hillary would be -).

Peter, as usual I/we agree with/appreciate your observations and wisdom. Huckabee is the staunch defender of religious liberty, virtue and marriage on principle; Trump may see the pragmatic reasons to defend Christians and marriage. He has spoken the most forcefully about protecting religious freedom and the borders. It reminds me of how King Artaxerxes noticed Nehemiah, his cup-bearer's, sadness and granted him a request to travel to Jerusalem to inspect the walls. The King "made it happen," that the Jews would have the materials and protection to build a wall, though he certainly was not a believer in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the time. God used this pagan king to direct that the walls surrounding Jerusalem be rebuilt and that the people be protected while doing so. This is how I may see Trump. He may not believe like most Christians or have a pure life in the past, but he may be whom God uses. And, with Gov. Huckabee as a close friend and mentor on governing, this could be a way God protects our nation. We just do not know. But I believe that Gov. Huckabee, who has been a good friend to Donald Trump since at least 2011, is already having a good influence. We can pray...Maybe God wants Donald Trump to protect us. Trump certainly wants to build a WALL!