Sarah Palin endorses Trump for president

Associated Press

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 to 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 also will be joining Trump at two events today, including a rally in Tulsa, Okla.

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.”