Palin-Cruz spat

Palin tweets: 'Is THIS Why People Don’t like Cruz?'

The Palin-Cruz spat broke out amid rampant speculation that the former Alaska governor would endorse Trump.

By Nick Gass

As rumors swirled on Tuesday over her possible endorsement of GOP poll-leader Donald Trump, Sarah Palin tweeted a link to a blog post by her daughter Bristol with the headline, "Is THIS Why People Don’t like Cruz?"

The blog post noted comments Tuesday morning by Ted Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler, who said he would be "deeply disappointed" if the former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate indeed endorsed Trump.

Tyler's remark "makes me hope my mom does endorse Trump," Bristol Palin shot back, though she mistakenly attributed the comments to Cruz himself.

"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," she continued. "How rude to that he’s setting up a false narrative about her!"

Later in the afternoon, Cruz tweeted his own praise and noted appreciation of Palin.

"I love @SarahPalinUSA Without her support, I wouldn't be in the Senate. Regardless of what she does in 2016, I will always be a big fan," the Texas senator wrote.

Trump has teased a "major announcement" and a "very special guest" at a campaign stop in Ames, Iowa, later in the afternoon, leading to speculation that it could be an endorsement from evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr. (whose Liberty University hosted Trump on Monday) or from Palin.

"I think it’d be a blow to Sarah Palin, because 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," Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler told CNN's "New Day," adding that the Manhattan businessman supported the TARP bailout.

While acknowledging that Trump has signaled a shift in his more liberal views, Tyler said, "if it was Sarah Palin, let me just say I’d be deeply disappointed."

Asked about the rumors during an event in Winterset, Iowa, Trump was coy on whether Palin would be at his Ames event later this evening.

“That I won’t say," Trump said. "I am a big fan of Sarah Palin, but I’m not saying who it is.”

A source close to the Palins told POLITICO that it is "unfortunate to see some of Sen. Cruz's new Washington staff trying to drive a wedge in the media between two solid conservative allies."

"Gov. Palin has been a staunch supporter of Sen. Cruz — long before any of them came along, and will remain one long after they are gone," the source said.

Palin backed Cruz for Senate in 2012 and has offered praise for both him and Trump during the primary campaign. The trio appeared at a Capitol Hill rally in September denouncing the nuclear deal with Iran.

In November, Palin told a North Carolina radio station that Trump becoming president is "a very real possibility." A month later, she told CNN's Jake Tapper, "I'm not going to pick one right now, but what a nice problem to have if it came down to Cruz and Trump."

The relationship between Trump and Palin extends back to 2011, when the two ate pizza with a fork in Times Square during a stop on Palin's bus tour.

Fox News dropped Palin from the network last June, after the former governor’s appearances had dwindled considerably following the 2012 election. Her public approval numbers among Republicans and overall have been slowly declining since August 2008, when Arizona Sen. John McCain chose her as his running mate. Palin was dogged by negative press coverage, including regarding an interview she gave to Katie Couric in which she struggled to name a newspaper she reads and a POLITICO report about her $150,000 wardrobe.

Palin has maintained a presence on social media, however, with more than 4.5 million Facebook likes and about 1.2 million followers on Twitter. She released her latest book, “Sweet Freedom: A Devotional,” in November.