Sarah Palin on 2016 GOP race: ‘What a nice problem to have if it came down to Cruz and Trump’
Sarah Palin hasn’t held public office in more than six years, and she was dropped as a contributor by Fox News in June, but the 51-year-old former Alaska governor sure has a lot to say.
The 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, who has a huge following on Facebook and Twitter, appeared on CNN’s “Politics on Tap” on the eve of the GOP debate night in Las Vegas to chime in about the candidates vying for the party’s 2016 presidential nomination.
Wearing cowboy boots bearing symbols from the American flag, Palin began with a defense of Donald Trump’s proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S., saying the “liberal media” didn’t allow the Republican frontrunner to “finish his thought.”
“I think that Trump was trying to finish the conversation that would lead to a pause on immigration in general,” Palin told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I think that’s where he was going.”
The tea party firebrand gushed over Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, saying he exudes “control.”
Palin, whose SarahPAC supports candidates who share its “conservative principles and the fight for freedom,” says she hasn’t endorsed any of the GOP candidates yet, but is leaning toward two.
“I’m not going to pick one right now, but what a nice problem to have if it came down to Cruz and Trump,” Palin said. “That’s a good problem for voters to have, because we know that, as you say, they are both strong and very decisive and someone who would take the initiative. That is what we need today, and both of those candidates would fit that bill.”
Still, Palin warned the GOP not to “blow it” by bullying Trump into launching an independent bid.
“The Republican Party’s got to do a better job of exerting independence,” she said.
Later, while participating in a word-association game, Palin didn’t mince them:
• On President Obama: “Warned ya.”
• Hillary Clinton: “Nyquil.”
• Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders: “Crazy cat that lives up in the attic.”
• Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush: “George.”
• Florida Sen. Marco Rubio: “Robotic.”
• New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: “Embraced Obama.”
• Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley: “Biceps.”
• The media: “Ew, oh God.”
