Gov. Sanders doubles down on Trump, sidesteps 2028 talk
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Jonathan Martin (left) met Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders at Wright's Barbecue in Little Rock. Screenshot: Courtesy of Politico
Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is aligned with President Trump's decision to strike Iran and says talk of the 2028 general election can wait until after the midterms.
The big picture: Politico launched YouTube show "On the Road With Jonathan Martin" on Tuesday, and the first episode featured a 40-minute interview with Sanders at the Little Rock Wright's Barbecue, recorded March 4.
State of play: "Martin will talk food, politics and place, delving into yesterday and tomorrow," Politico said in a news release about the show.
- The great question it will seek to answer: "How did we get here and where are we going?"
What she's saying: The interview ranged from Iran to Sanders' father, former Arkansas Gov. and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, to the midterms and the 2028 elections. Some comments from the interview:
🇮🇷 On Iran: "I really commend the president for his courage. I do not think this was an easy decision, but I 100% think it was the right decision," Sanders told Martin. She argued against the war being "new."
- "Because [Trump] feels like if we get to do this on our terms and take out their offensive capabilities, then long term, you're protecting a lot more American lives."
📺 On Tucker Carlson's interview with her father: The interview was divisive, with Carlson implying that Huckabee was more invested in Israel than the U.S. Referring to Israel essentially taking the entire Middle East, Huckabee said "it would be fine if they took it all."
- Sanders defended her father and said she was "really disappointed" in Carlson. She criticized him for what she said was his "dishonesty" and said he was not respectful to her father.
🗳️ On the 2026 midterms: "Midterms are hard for whatever party is in power, and that's going to make it a challenge," she said.
- "We really have to lean into … telling our success story. If we do that, I think we can outperform historical expectations, but a lot of that will depend … on how much we see the president engage."
🏛️ On the 2028 general election: She wouldn't speculate on the GOP's next presidential nominee, saying, "I think it would be a mistake to focus on '28 until we get finished with the '26 midterms."
🏃♀️ On her potential run for president: She downplayed speculation about her own future ambitions but did not entirely dismiss the idea, framing long-term considerations as secondary to governing Arkansas and winning reelection this year.
- "In any job, especially one like I have right now in public service, your goal — your focus — has to be to do a really good job in the role that you have and see what happens from there. So my focus is Arkansas and helping us move to the top and take it from there."
♀️ On gender: Martin asked about a conservative woman being the best pick to eventually break the presidential gender barrier.
- "I don't care as much whether the person is a male or a female. I want whoever is in the White House to be a Republican," Sanders replied.
The bottom line: Sanders emphasized her loyalty to Trump and conservative wins in Arkansas, a position that resonates now and could matter later.