Bristol Palin made the case for her mom Sarah Palin to endorse Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump over his rival Ted Cruz on Tuesday, penning a blog post, “Is this why people don’t like Ted Cruz?”
After rumors swirled that Sen. John McCain’s 2008 vice presidential nominee and longtime tea party champion would endorse Trump in Iowa Tuesday, the Texas senator’s spokesman Rick Tyler said a Trump endorsement would be “be a blow to Sarah Palin.”
As Cruz and Trump fight for first place in Iowa with just 13 days to go before voters make their choice, Cruz is seeking to portray Trump as a false conservative and shine light on his history as a Democrat before his turn towards conservative politics later in life. An endorsement from the conservative firebrand Palin would surely shore up some voters’ anxiety about his conservative credentials, a narrative the Cruz campaign seems intent on disrupting.
“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,” Tyler said on CNN. Though teased for 11:30, Trump delayed news of his surprise guest until later in the day and speculation continued.
Shortly after, Bristol Palin slammed Cruz, arguing that her mom had supported Cruz for years and turning on her was wrong; his campaign’s criticism “shows arrogance,” she wrote.
“After hearing what Cruz is now saying about my mom, in a negative knee-jerk reaction, makes me hope my mom does endorse Trump. Cruz’s flip-flop, turning against my mom who’s done nothing but support and help him when others sure didn’t, shows he’s a typical politician. How rude to that he’s setting up a false narrative about her!” she wrote. “America doesn’t need that.”
Bristol concluded her post with one final zinger: “You’ve also said, “She can pick winners!” I hope you’re right, and that she endorses Donald Trump today for President.”
This article originally appeared on MSNBC.com.
