It’s hard to say what makes more sense, really: that failed vice presidential candidate-turned-failed TV personality Sarah Palin is making a bid to return to political life, or that failed steak salesman-turned-failed president Donald Trump is endorsing her.
Just days after announcing her intent to run for Alaska’s sole congressional seat, following the death of Republican Rep. Don Young last month, Palin was treated to a wholly predictable endorsement from Trump, who called her “a champion for Alaska values, Alaska energy, Alaska jobs, and the great people of Alaska,” which is an interesting thing to call someone who literally quit their last job championing Alaska halfway through. And I say “wholly predictable” because:
1. Palin only announced she was running for Young’s seat after conferring with Trump himself.
And perhaps more significantly:
2. The two represent the same breed of reality TV politicians (although in slightly different orders), each with a preternatural ability to sniff out where they can maximize influence and profit under the paper-thin guise of public service.
And speaking of “wholly predictable,” would it shock you to learn that Trump used the occasion of his Palin endorsement to take an entirely unrelated swipe at his longtime — and long dead — nemesis, John McCain?
“Sarah lifted the McCain presidential campaign out of the dumps despite the fact that she had to endure some very evil, stupid, and jealous people within the campaign itself,” Trump claimed. “They were out to destroy her, but she didn’t let that happen.”
Frankly, I think we should take a moment to marvel at the fact that Trump found the time and energy to divert himself from a busy schedule of relitigating the 2020 election and occasionally the 2016 election to complain about the 2008 election, too. In any case, following Trump’s endorsement, Palin welcomed the boost to both her zeitgeisty profile and electoral prospects, saying she was “honored” to have the former president’s support.
While Trump’s endorsement might be the most potent force in Republican politics today, it’s by no means a guarantee that Palin will, in fact, ultimately win her election. She faces dozens of candidates in a particularly crowded field involving a particularly complex series of ranked-choice run-off races. So as much as Palin is likely the most recognizable, media-savvy candidate in the running, it’s entirely likely that she will once again find herself right back where she started: a private citizen with a failed TV career. God bless America.
