Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders (born August 13, 1982)[1] is an American politician serving since 2023 as the 47th governor of Arkansas. Sanders is the daughter of Mike Huckabee, who served from 1996 to 2007 as Arkansas's 44th governor.[2] A member of the Republican Party, she was the 31st White House press secretary, serving under President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019. Sanders was the third woman to be White House press secretary.[3] She also served as a senior advisor on Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Sanders became the Republican nominee in the 2022 Arkansas gubernatorial election and won, defeating Democratic nominee Chris Jones.
"Sarah Sanders" redirects here. Not to be confused with Sarah Saunders.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
As press secretary, Sanders was the spokesperson for the Trump administration's policy decisions, and had a confrontational relationship with the White House press corps.[4][5][6][7] When interviewed by investigators as part of the Mueller probe, she admitted making false statements in her role.[8][9][10] Sanders hosted fewer press conferences than any of the 13 previous White House press secretaries.[11]
In June 2019, Trump tweeted that Sanders would be leaving her role as press secretary.[12][13] On January 25, 2021, she announced her candidacy for governor of Arkansas; Trump endorsed her. She secured the Republican nomination in May 2022; her general election opponents were the Democratic nominee, Chris Jones, and the Libertarian nominee, Ricky Dale Harrington. She is the first woman to hold the office, the first woman to be governor of a state of which her father was also governor,[14][15] and the youngest current governor.[16]
Sanders has been recognized in Fortune and Time magazine's "40 under 40". She is the author of The New York Times bestseller Speaking for Myself, is a former Fox News Channel contributor, and served on the Fulbright board.[3]
Early life and education[edit]
Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee was born on August 13, 1982, in Hope, Arkansas.[1] She is the youngest child and only daughter of Mike Huckabee and Janet Huckabee (née McCain), both politicians.[17][18] She has two brothers, John Mark Huckabee and David Huckabee.[18] After graduating from Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas,[19] Huckabee attended Ouachita Baptist University (her father's alma mater) in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. She was elected student body president of the university and was active in Republican organizations. In 2004, she graduated from the university with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in political science and minoring in mass communications.[20][21][22]
Career after the White House[edit]
On August 22, 2019, Fox News announced that Sanders would become a contributor to the network, effective September 6.[82] During the December 2019 Democratic presidential debate, Sanders mocked Joe Biden's stutter on Twitter. She apologized the next day.[83]
Following the January 6 United States Capitol attack, the editor of Forbes warned corporations against hiring Sanders and other Trump "propagandists", writing, "Forbes will assume that everything your company or firm talks about is a lie."[84]
In popular culture[edit]
In 2010, Sanders was named one of Time's "40 under 40" in politics.[107] At the 2018 White House Correspondents Dinner, comedienne Michelle Wolf made several jokes at Sanders's expense. Maggie Haberman of The New York Times tweeted, "That @PressSec sat and absorbed intense criticism of her physical appearance, her job performance, and so forth, instead of walking out, on national television, was impressive." MSNBC co-host Mika Brzezinski responded, "Watching a wife and mother be humiliated on national television for her looks is deplorable."[108]
Like several of her White House colleagues, Sanders was also satirized on Saturday Night Live,[109] where she was portrayed by Aidy Bryant.
In April 2023, Sanders responded to the Anheuser-Busch brewing company over its promotion of TikToker Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender woman and activist. Anheuser-Busch's use of Mulvaney in promoting Bud Light was met with a boycott of Bud Light by many conservative celebrities. Sanders supported the boycott by promoting "Real Women" beer can koozies. On her Twitter account, she captioned a video, "Real women don't have to fake it." In addition to Sanders, the koozies also featured images of Alabama governor Kay Ivey, Iowa governor Kim Reynolds, and South Dakota governor Kristi Noem.[110] Sanders's activities met with mixed media responses.[111][112]
Personal life[edit]
Huckabee met Bryan Sanders during her father's 2008 presidential campaign. She was the campaign's field director, and Sanders was hired as a media consultant. The couple married in 2010.[113][114][24] They have three children.[17][115][3]
On June 22, 2018, a co-owner of a 26-seat restaurant in Lexington, Virginia, 200 miles (320 km) from Washington, D.C., asked Sanders to leave the restaurant because she worked for the Trump administration, giving rise to the Red Hen restaurant controversy.[116]
Sanders was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer in September 2022. She had surgery to remove her thyroid and the surrounding lymph nodes.[117]