UPDATE WITH GOVERNOR PALIN'S OWN IMPRESSIONS AND CHOSEN PHOTO'S
Great enthusiasts showed up for a lively "Politics on Tap" discussion last night in Vegas thanks to Jake Tapper - he always comes through with good, thoughtful questions!
Thank you, CNN Team & Double Barrel, for organizing a great event. And heartfelt thanks for supporters (and opponents!) taking time to be involved in it and graciously letting me meet many of you afterward to sign#SweetFreedom.
Tonight's GOP debate is extremely important and significant in America's steps forward to finally choose new leadership. 2016 can't come soon enough. I'm heading out now for Tapper's CNN show "The Lead" - 4pm EST - and then attending the "undercard" debate a few hours later. Please don't ignore the undercard. I respect EVERY candidate with the guts to jump in the lion's den, duking it out in the arena of ideas with honorable intentions to un-do what Obama's agenda has done to our exceptional nation: Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, Lindsey Graham & George Pataki.
Todd, Willow, and I look forward to supporting the GOP lineup tonight and showing our respect by rooting on leaders smart enough to stand on America's most sturdy planks - all found in the GOP platform.
The nine-candidate main debate follows. It's going to be fantastic!
The nine-candidate main debate follows. It's going to be fantastic!
- Sarah Palin
Rachel Smolkin @RachelSmolkin
Getting ready. #politicsontap @CNNPolitics
Thanks mostly to intrepid hunter DeeDee here are all in one place most if not all of the various photographs and other media items from Sarah Palin's appearance with Jake Tapper at CNN's
Politics On Tap."
Here are his tweets;
If @realDonaldTrump were forced to run as Indy, "shame on the Republican establishment."
-@SarahPalinUSA
Teddy Davis
@TeddyDavisCNN
@TeddyDavisCNN
What will it take for GOP to win? Independence from big money, says Palin.
Teddy Davis
@TeddyDavisCNN
@TeddyDavisCNN
On prospect of Trump 3rd party run, Palin says GOP establishment should not be putting fear in people of mistreatment and party split.
'There is something missing there' @SarahPalinUSA says of @CarlyFiorina White House bid #PoliticsOnTap
Rick Santorum showed up to this event & hugged Palin. Chatted like old friends
Best of Sarah Palin word association at #PoliticsOnTap:
Jeb: "George."
Rubio: "Robotic."
Christie: "Embraced Obama."
O'Malley: "Biceps.
Sarah Palin on Bernie Sanders: "Crazy cat that lives up in the attic!'
From CNN
"Sarah Palin's favorites: Donald Trump and Ted Cruz"
Palin on Trump's Muslim policy: 'Let him finish the conversation!' 02:04
Las Vegas (CNN)Sarah Palin isn't shy about her least-favorite candidates in the 2016 field.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio? "Robotic."
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie? "Embraced Obama."
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush? "George."
Hillary Clinton? "Nyquil."
And President Barack Obama himself? "Warned ya."
Palin delivered the answers to CNN's Jake Tapper as the two played a word-association game Monday night at a "Politics on Tap" event at the Double Barrel Roadhouse in Las Vegas. It came the night before the fifth GOP presidential debate of the 2016 campaign.
Palin's comments reflect what much of the GOP's conservative base think of Jeb Bush -- that he's too much like his brother and father, both former presidents. And she showed conservatives still haven't forgiven Christie for hugging Obama in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, just before the 2012 election.
She did have a compliment for former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, the low-polling Democratic candidate whose looks have drawn attention on social media.
Her take on O'Malley? "Biceps."
Here are a few more highlights from their 25-minute conversation:
1. Palin loves Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.
She doesn't plan to endorse any time soon. And, in a nod to her history of backing candidates who didn't win, she joked that the presidential hopefuls wouldn't want her backing, anyway.
"Not if they're smart!" she said.
But Palin wasn't shy about saying her two favorite candidates in the 2016 GOP race are Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.
She offered some kudos for the "libertarian leanings" of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and said she does "so respect" retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. But she offered the kindest praise to Cruz, the GOP front-runner in Iowa, and Trump, who leads in national polls.
"I'm not going to pick one right now, but what a nice problem to have if it came down to Cruz and Trump," Palin said. "That's a good problem for voters to have, because we know that, as you say, they are both strong and very decisive and someone who would take the initiative. That is what we need today, and both of those candidates would fit that bill."
Though the former Alaska governor wasn't endorsing anyone, her daughter Willow Palin -- who attended Monday night's event -- says she's backing Trump.
2. Trump's Muslim ban controversy? Blame the media.
Palin stuck with a tried-and-true tactic of saying the "liberal media" distorted Trump's proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the United States.
She said Trump didn't get to "finish his thought" -- and that she believes a pause in a "screwed-up" system more broadly is what the national Republican front-runner had in mind.
"I think that Trump was trying to finish the conversation that would lead to a pause on immigration in general, Jake. I think that's where he was going," Palin said.
3. Warning shots at the Republican Party.
Palin said it'd be the Republican Party's fault -- not Trump's -- if the real estate mogul decided he wasn't being treated fairly and launched an independent campaign.
She said Republican voters are valuing candidates who split from the donor class, and the party overall "better not blow it."
"The Republican Party's got to do a better job of exerting independence," Palin said.
4. Palin has some thoughts on drinking.
Or at least, two specific drinking-related questions.
Asked what beer she'd pair with moose chili, Palin said: "It would be a good Coors Light. Yes, yes -- pretty simple people."
And as for which Republican presidential candidate she'd most like to grab a beer with, she chose one who's said he's never consumed alcohol.
"The one who seems most fun bellying up to a bar would be Trump," Palin said.
'Not if they're smart:' Sarah Palin cracks that candidates aren't begging for her endorsement but she loves Trump and Cruz and thinks Rubio is 'robotic'
- Sarah Palin was the opening night act for the Republican debate in Las Vegas at a CNN-sponsored party on the strip
- The former vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor said she can't choose between Donald Trump and Marco Rubio
- During a rigorous game of word association she said Marco Rubio reminded her of a robot, Bernie Sanders was like a cat in the attack and Martin O'Malley was nothing but biceps
- Gov. Sarah Palin refused to pick between her darlings – Donald Trump and Ted Cruz – at a Republican debate night eve Q&A with CNN's Jake Tapper and said she also realizes that candidate don't always want her support.'Not if they're smart,' the 2008 GOP vice presidential pick quipped when asked if Republicans were clamoring for her stamp of approval, which often used to translate into an electoral win.'It's not always helpful to have my endorsement,' she added.Scroll down for videoSarah Palin (left) spent her evening at a Las Vegas bar answering questions posed to her by CNN's Jake Tapper (right) including who she liked best in the crowded Republican field
Sarah Palin (left) said her daughter Willow Palin (right ) was a fan of Donald Trump and Palin was too - saying he was the candidate she'd most like to go get a beer with - though The Donald doesn't drinkBut Palin gave big compliments to Cruz and Trump anyway – the latter of which she said daughter Willow supported too – and sprinkled some kudos onto Rand Paul and Ben Carson as well.'I do appreciate the libertarian leanings in Rand Paul,' she said. 'Because I'm quite independent. And Dr. Carson, I so respect.'She added, without naming names, that some candidates had sought her support.Trump and Cruz leading the pack, Palin stated, was a good thing for the Republican party.'I'm not going to pick one right now, but what a nice problem to have, if it came down to Cruz and Trump,' she said.Trump, Palin said, would be the candidate she would most like to have a beer with, after telling Tapper that a Coors Light is the best choice to serve alongside a moose stew.'We're pretty simple people,' she said to the culinary query.'The one who seems the most fun to be at the bar would be Donald Trump,' she answered.Though, according to Trump's doctor's report that was released today, the billionaire Republican frontrunner doesn't drink.
GOP hopeful Rick Santorum (left) stopped by to say hello to Palin (middle left) and they brought family members Daniel Santorum (middle right) and Todd Palin (right) along for the ridePalin's support remained steady through Trump's tumultuous last week, when he announced that he wanted to stop non-American Muslims from coming into the country.Palin pointed out that all Trump asked for was a pause.'Let him finish the conversation,' she implored.She also complimented the Republican field for being more diverse and interesting than the Democratic threesome of Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley – 'grumpy old white guys ... and gals,' she said, with a quick pause.And during a rousing game of word association she clued the audience into more thoughts she had about the field of presidential candidates.She called Clinton Nyquil, the drug used when you're sick and need to be put to sleep; as for Sanders, she said he reminded her of a cat who lives in the attack. When former Maryland Gov. O'Malley's name came up, she simply said 'biceps.'She said, 'warned ya,' when asked about President Obama.The former Alaska governor had positive associations for the candidates she supports. She said Cruz reminded her of cruise, or Cruz, control.Trump, whose lavish Trump International Hotel Las Vegas isn't far from the setting of tomorrow night's debate, reminded Palin of 'gold-plated everything.'Marco Rubio, who's working to be the anti-Trump and Cruz, Palin said just came off as 'robotic.'
Fair use notice: This website contains copyrighted material, the use of which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Excerpts of such material is made available for educational purposes, and as such this constitutes ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Act. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this website is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Original material published on this website may be excerpted and the excerpt reproduced for the purpose of critical reviews. However, such original material may not be reproduced in full on another website or in any manner without prior approval from this website’s owner. In all cases when material from this website is reproduced in full or in part, the author and website must be credited by name and a hyperlink provided to this website
.@SarahPalinUSA: "I love when @realDonaldTrump goes rogue.
David Axelrod @davidaxelrod 1
On @tedcruz, @SarahPalinUSA says "Control. Cruise control."
David Axelrod @davidaxelrod
Asked for a word that comes to mind when she hears @marcorubio, she says "robotic."
David Axelrod @davidaxelrod
At @jaketapper convo with @SarahPalinUSA, who names @realDonaldTrump & @tedcruz as her faves. Rubio unmentioned. "Status quo has got to go."
All eggs clearly in Trump/Cruz basket and deadlock convention out the window unless Trump/Cruz were deadlocked with no one else with much support
Hmmm; Palin says. Won't endorse in the primary.That's a reversal