Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the Trump administration’s deputy press secretary, is quickly earning President Donald Trump’s trust through her staunch defense of the president.
“She understands America,” White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told the Associated Press. “She understands the president. And she understands how to connect the two. The president has a great deal of trust in Sarah.”
Here are eight things you need to know about Sanders.
1. She is the daughter of Mike Huckabee. Per Cosmopolitan:
She and her dad are close. In 2010, she told Time that her father was her political hero. “He’s an amazing politician, but an even better parent,” she said. “Everyday he challenges me to be a better person and I will forever be grateful for that.”
And the father and daughter speak most mornings before 6 a.m., according to The Associated Press. “I’ll call and say, ‘What do you think if I say this?’ He’ll say, ‘That’s really good. You might try to say it a little bit more like X,'” she told the AP.
2. Sanders worked for both of her father’s presidential campaigns, as well former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s (R) presidential campaign. Sanders was the national political director of Huckabee’s 2008 presidential campaign and the campaign manager of Huckabee’s 2016 presidential campaign. For Pawlenty’s 2012 presidential campaign, Sanders worked as the senior political advisor.
3. Sanders has worked for several other Republican campaigns. These include:
- Field coordinator for her father’s 2002 re-election campaign for Arkansas governor
- Ohio field director for George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign for president
- Campaign manager for then-Rep. John Boozman’s (R-Ark.) 2010 Senate campaign
- Advisor for Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R-Ark.) 2014 re-election campaign for Senate
- Senior adviser for Missouri Gov. John Brunner’s (R) gubernatorial campaign
Ballotpedia points out that Sanders actually took Boozman’s spot in a 2010 Republican primary debate because he was trying to fight Obamacare in the House of Representatives at that time.
4. Sanders joined the Trump campaign as a senior adviser in February once her father’s presidential bid flamed out. In September, Sanders’ job included reaching out to “faith leaders, gun rights supporters, military groups, and other voter coalitions,” according to Bloomberg.
Sanders told the AP, “One of the big things my dad was running on was changing Washington, breaking that cycle. I felt like the outsider component was important and I thought he had the ability to actually win and defeat Hillary.”
5. Outside of her work for Republican campaigns, Sanders has worked for two consulting firms and for George W. Bush’s Department of Education. Sanders worked for Tsamoutales Strategies from 2011 to 2015; in 2014 she was the vice president of the organization. She left in June 2015 to start the Second Street Strategies consulting firm in February 2016 with her husband, Bryan Sanders, who also has an extensive career working for Republican campaigns.
Sanders also worked for a time as the regional liaison under Bush’s Education Department.
6. Sanders showed interest in politics at a young age. “When most kids at 7 or 8 are jumping rope, [Sarah is] sitting at the kitchen table listening to [political consultant] Dick Morris doing cross tabs on statewide polls,” Huckabee told AP.
7. Sanders once commended Barack Obama on the issue of broken families. “America needs more fathers taking an active role in their children’s lives,” Sanders told Time in 2010. “Kids who are the victims of broken families are more likely to end up in poverty, rehab, or jail. I’m a Republican, but I respect President Obama for setting the right example and addressing this problem. I hope more people will join him in his efforts.”
8. Sanders has recently been involved in some contentious interviews over Trump’s allegations of Obama “wiretapping” his phone. The interviews, with ABC’s Martha Raddatz and George Stephanopoulos, can be seen below: (H/T: Cosmopolitan)