Inside Sarah Sanders' Big Announcement
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Donald Trump's former press secretary, has announced that she will be running for governor of Arkansas in 2022. Sanders announced her bid for governor in a video on her Twitter on Jan. 25, 2021. She explained her motivation in the nearly eight-minute announcement, seemingly targeting Trump supporters with an anecdote about visiting a military base with the former president.
"With the radical left now in charge of Washington, your governor is your last line of defense. In fact, your governor must be on the front line," Sanders said. "So today, I announce my candidacy for governor of Arkansas." She has also criticized one of president Joe Biden's first executive orders, canceling the Keystone Pipeline, as proof that the "radical left" is now in charge.
"President Joe Biden's cancelation of the Keystone Pipeline will kill many good jobs in Arkansas. The radical left is now running the show in Washington and hardworking Americans are paying the price," Sanders tweeted. According to the BBC, the Keystone Pipeline has been a divisive issue for over a decade, as environmentalists and Native American activists have fought to prevent its construction.
Former President Trump said Sarah Sanders would be a 'fantastic' governor
As CNN reported, Sarah Huckabee Sanders first considered a potential run after she left the White House in 2019. She maintained a good relationship with former President Donald Trump after her departure, and he tweeted at the time (via the Washington Post) that she was "a very special person with extraordinary talents, who has done an incredible job." He added, "I hope she decides to run for Governor of Arkansas—she would be fantastic."
CNN also revealed that Sanders would have a good chance in 2022, given that more than 62% of Arkansas voters backed Trump in November 2020. While some Democrats have been elected in the state before, like Bill Clinton, it has increasingly turned red since 2012.
During her time as press secretary for Trump from 2017 to 2019, Sarah Sanders often clashed with the media and accused journalists of spreading "fake news." According to the BBC, she hosted fewer press conferences than any of the 13 press secretaries that came before her. Sanders also admitted that she had lied to the public during the Mueller Special Counsel investigation, as the New York Times reported.