Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) said Tuesday that it is unlikely she'll become a vice presidential candidate in 2016.
“There are millions of other Americans out there [who are] qualified, ready, willing and able,” Palin added. "If I were asked, I’d do it.”
Palin’s remarks come amid one of the GOP’s most crowded presidential fields in recent memory. She argued Tuesday that the 15 contenders are strengthening the eventual Republican nominee for next year’s general election.
“I’m all about competition, [and] at least on the Republican side of the aisle, we have a very, very competitive primary,” said Palin, who was the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008.
"That makes everyone work harder and produce a better product for the people as they are competing in the arena of ideas,” she added.
Palin then praised GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump for resonating with voters despite his background outside of politics.
“He’s not a politician, and that’s what we love, that’s what normal Americans appreciate,” she said.
“We’re really tired of the status quo, people who have been part of the problem, and yet are now campaigning, promising to do something about the problems,” Palin continued.
“Donald Trump, Dr. [Ben] Carson, Carly [Fiorina] and others who haven’t been in politics all of their lives, they are refreshing as they are able to explain what some solutions are because it’s fresh, it’s new.”
Palin, 51, also admitted she would reenter the political arena if the right opportunity presented itself.
“My interest has always been in public service, getting out there, doing all that I can to try and make the world a better place,” she said.
"If that’s a position in politics, I would be willing to bust through that door.”
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***Kilmeade Transcript;
Kilmeade: She’s a former Governor of Alaska as you know, and running mate to Senator John McCain, and the ultimate political heavyweight although she’s never been in better shape. She can kill her own food and make her own tent. She can survive off the land, which I can’t because I grew up on Long Island, and you grew up in the wilderness of Alaska, which I have yet to visit. She is the author of a brand new book called ‘Affirming Faith in a Divisive World’. Sarah Palin, welcome back to Kilmeade and Friends
Palin: Thank you so much, and whoa man … what an introduction. I feel like a tough woman now.
Kilmeade: Governor, what would it take for somebjody like me who is established in my ways of shopping for food, how long would it take me to be competent in the wilderness?
Palin: Well, if your with me by my side, or I’m leading you .. you’re going to do just fine. But you know what? You’re gonna need me if push comes to shove and the economy crashes, and if you’re looking for food .. I will feed you fresh, organic food up there in Alaska. We just have to shoot it first, okay? And then you’ll be taken care of.
Kilmeade: Okay, so we don’t just wait first for it to pass on from old age and then cook it. You have to kill it.
Palin: Yeah, we don’t necessarily want to consume road kill either. Sorry! But we gotta pull the trigger.
Kilmeade: Okay fine. I understand. Governor Palin, why this book now? Why was it important for you? Is this something you did everyday and yo decide to put it into a devotional for everybody else?
Palin: Yeah, because people are asking me all the time in this worried world, they’re saying,‘These are tumultuous times. What the heck are we gonna do? What are we going to do about terrorism? What are going to do about an unjust taxation system? What are we going to do about people taking away our second amendment rights?’ And I say, ‘you know what?’Every one of those issues ..and every issue, every challenge you’re facing personally… there’s answers for ya. And maybe you don’t know where to look for them. I can show you where to look. And I show in the old and the new testament what the specific solutions are to every single problem that we’re facing.
Kilmeade: The name of the book is ‘Sweet Freedom’. So Governor, who got you.. why did religion resonate with you? There’s so many parents try to get their kids in religion. Sometimes it clicks and sometimes it doesn’t. Why did it click with you as a kid?
Palin: Yeah, it clicked with me as a kid because having grown up in a very active Irish-Catholic, competitive family .. it was kind of during the Jesus movement. I know that’s church talk. But during the Jesus movement back in the seventies, my mom was seeking something more even then what she felt she was receiving from her church. She tuned into the ‘Billy Graham Crusade’ at the time and decided, ‘You know what, this personal relationship with Jesus stuff. That sounds kind of what I’m looking for’. So my mom, giving her life to Christ all those years ago, she led the rest of the family to the faith. And from there Brian, why it is still so important to me .. in fact more and more every day is, because God has a way of just allowing situations in our lives that will drive us to our knees, to keep us humble, to keep us relying on him and not relying on ourselves. So, I can’t survive a day without it.
Kilmeade: Wow. We’re talking with Governor Sarah Palin. So Governor, this book is out. I’m sure it’s going to do quite well. ‘Sweet Freedoms’ the name of it. And I did notice in your CBS piece that you would entertain another run for office.
Palin: Well, I would.. and I talk about this in the book a little bit too. About how we know that we’re equipped with passion, with interests. We’re given those by our creator, and they’re put in us not to frustrate us or tease us, or to just sit on those interests and those gifts .. those talents whatever they may be. But they’re to put us on a road towards fulfillment. Towards productivity, ultimately helping other people. And I know that built within me is certainly a passion for this country, and our exceptionalism, and our history, and our constitution. So, kind of putting that all that together, that still leads me to this great love of what’s going on in our political system, in order to make things better.
Kilmeade: Right. So do you in retrospect, do you regret not doing what Senator McCain did, and Senator Rand Paul did, and hold on to your title while you ran for the vice presidency? For example, you could have remained Governor of Alaska, like he remained Senator from Arizona… in retrospect.
Palin: No, I don’t regret it at all. Cause what I was doing to the State of Alaska… the Obama administration really started cracking down on any of the freedom that I had as a Governor in serving my state. They filed lawsuit after lawsuit. Frivolous stuff against me so that I would be shut down and look ineffective. So I’m like, ‘You know what? .. I’m screwing with the State of Alaska by being in the position that I’m in, holding onto a title.’ So I handed the reins to my Lieutenant Governor. And things went well for the state thereto. Cause he’s as fiscally conservative as I was. So no. I know that we made the right decision.
Kilmeade: No, I think so too. And by the way, we’re talking with Governor Sarah Palin. Her books out. It’s called ‘Sweet Freedom’. Governor? What about Senator? Would that be a logical thing being that your residence is still Alaska? Would you like to be the next Senator from Alaska?
Palin: Umm you know, I don’t know what position it would be, that I would strive for if it were to be in a political system in order to make a difference. Brian, I am one to be proof, I believe .. that there can be some influence exuded, and there can be some changes made via the position that you’re in. Today, you don’t have to have a title, you don’t have to have a office and a nameplate outside that office door in order to make a difference. With the freedom that I have today, you know just being a hockey mom up in Alaska .. it’s amazing that God can still use you.
Kilmeade: Obviously. Governor? Right now you look at these candidates, what one .. if national securities the number one issue .. who’s your number one candidate?
Palin: Oh man, that’s a great question because we know that national security is the number one issue. That’s the job of the Federal government. Everything else, man the Federal government needs to leave alone and let the States and the individuals deal with. But national security yeah, what you’re asking is ‘Who’s going to fight hardest to put America’s security first?’ And we do need a fighter. We need that ‘status quo that’s gotta go’. We need someone who’s willing and able to come up against that on the Democratic side of the aisle.
Kilmeade: And you’re thinking .. and the answer is?
Palin: I’m thinking, listen. It’s too early, to endorse anybody. But I’m thinking, we don’t need any more of the same! We don’t need anybody who has been a part of the problem! Part of that political establishment who’s helped get us into the mess that we’re in. We need fresh, new .. thankfully we have a competitive primary, and it’s just like sports. Competition makes everybody better. It makes you produce more. So on the Republican side of the aisle, we have in the arena of ideas .. we have tough fight .. and very competitive as opposed to the other side of the aisle with no diversity. Grumpy old white guys … and gal. You know, at least we have competition on our side.
Kilmeade: So nothing yet. ‘Sweet Freedom’, thanks.
*** Transcribers note: While it appears as if Kilmeade cut the Governor short, it was apparent that he was coming up against a ‘hard break’ and was forced to end the segment abruptly.
Before delving into the book, Roberts had another question for the Governor:
