Is Sarah Palin about to endorse Donald Trump?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 19 January 2016

Donald Trump is teasing a "major announcement" and a "very special guest" at his campaign stop in Iowa later this afternoon, leading to quite a few rumors that Sarah Palin could be endorsing Trump.

Rumors started flying after a charter jet left Anchorage, Alaska on Monday, and landed in Des Moines, Iowa — which raised suspicions that the former Alaska governor was on board. However, according to The Washington Post, it's hardly a sure thing: The Anchorage plane left Des Moines for Tulsa within half an hour, meaning the Iowa stop could have just been a refuel before it reached its final destination.

But if a Palin endorsement is impending, it could be a major blow to Ted Cruz, who Palin backed during his initial bid for the Senate. A Cruz aide told Politico that he would be "deeply disappointed" if Palin indeed backed Trump. On CNN, Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler ranted that if Palin were to throw her weight behind Trump "it'd be a blow to Sarah Palin, because Sarah Palin has been a champion for the conservative cause, and if she was going to endorse Donald Trump, sadly, she would be endorsing someone who's held progressive views all their life on the sanctity of life, on marriage, on partial-birth abortion."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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