Sarah Huckabee Sanders is planning to write a book about her time working at the White House.
The president’s long-time defender against fake news became one of the most recognizable figures of the Trump White House before her departure on Friday. Besides a book, Sanders is reportedly considering a run for governor in her home state of Arkansas.
Future plans
While Sanders initially said last month that she was planning to return home with her family, she did not foreclose the idea of running for office, and it does look like she has bigger plans on the horizon. Reports indicate that Sanders is in fact preparing to pen a book about her experience at the White House.
The former press secretary will reportedly take a month off in July to wind down with family before moving to Arkansas and setting to work on the book. Sanders will hit the speaking circuit and work on Trump’s re-election campaign as well.
Sanders will certainly have no shortage of source material from which to draw. The Trump era has seen a glut of “tell alls” about the inner workings of the administration, but few from a figure as close to the eye of the storm as Sanders has long been.
While tell-alls have focused on stories of intrigue in the West Wing, Sanders publicly feuded with members of the press throughout her tenure. She brings the unique vantage point of having been at the center of the media maelstrom that is the Trump era for nearly two years.
Sanders’ book will also certainly strike a different tone from the majority of “behind the scenes” Trump books as well, which have been overwhelmingly negative, as those who still remember Omarosa can attest.
A source told Axios that Sanders’ book will strike a positive note. Sanders said that working for Trump was the “honor and privilege of a lifetime” last week as she exited the White House.
“Today I’ll walk out the gates of the White House for the last time as Press Secretary with my head held high. It’s been the honor and privilege of a lifetime to work with President @realDonaldTrump and his amazing team the last three and a half years,” Sanders wrote on Friday. “You’re the best…Thank you!”
Other big plans?
Sanders built up tremendous political capital — and earned the everlasting scorn of the left — for her tireless defense of Trump against a relentlessly hostile media machine. Her resignation has been about as polarizing as the rest of her White House career. While many in Trump’s base admire Sanders’ unflappable, combative approach with the press, the left celebrated the exit of Trump’s “propagandist.”
But besides writing books and giving speeches, Sanders may have larger political ambitions of her own. The daughter of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has reportedly told friends that she is considering following in her father’s footsteps.
President Trump encouraged Sanders to run for governor when he announced her resignation last month. The incumbent governor of the state, Asa Hutchinson, is prevented by term limits from running again, so the seat will open up in 2022.
Members of Sanders’ inner circle have reportedly sought test polling which has revealed that she would crush the competition. A super PAC to support a Sanders gubernatorial race was recently formed, and website domains supporting a Sanders run have been registered anonymously.
Meanwhile, Sanders’ successor Stephanie Grisham, Melania Trump’s spokeswoman, is expected to come into the role with a similar toughness. Grisham earned the grudging respect of many journalists after a much-publicized clash with North Korean officials this weekend. Grisham suffered bruises after jostling with guards who were blocking reporters from viewing Trump’s historic handshake with Kim Jong Un on North Korean soil.
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