Sarah Palin on Putin: 'Nobody Has to Guess Whose Side He Is On'

The United states has "no choice but to do everything possible" to eradicate the evil that the Islamic State represents, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Tuesday, praising Russian President Vladimir Putin for "doing his job" to protect his country.

"You know, you have to hand it to the man," the one-time vice presidential nominee told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program. "Nobody has to guess whose side he is on. He's putting his people first and doing the right thing, and I think that maybe some other leaders could kind of learn from some of that."

But at the same time, she said that the United States will have to follow late President Ronald Reagan's warning to "trust but verify" when it comes to Putin, emphasizing that "we have to be more vigilant than ever" when it comes to the Russian leader.

"Good, bad, or ugly, though, you have to give the man some due respect," she said.

Also, she said that the American public is in danger from potential leaders like Hillary Clinton, who refuse to identify the enemy as "radical Islamists."

"It's a dangerous position for the people who are being served by our leaders who refuse to identify the enemy," Palin said. "Because obviously, how the heck are you going to go in there and get rid of them?"

She also applauded the nation's many governors who have said they will reject Syrian refugees from coming into their states, saying there is "no process to vet, to get rid of the bad guys before they step on our soil.  It is our Republican governors who are so strong on this, and so correct when it comes to whose authority actually it is to make sure that the people that they're serving are safe."

Palin also on the show discussed presidential politics, saying that there are no Democrats who are strong enough to suit her on national security, but pointed out that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and frontrunner Donald Trump are both strongest, to her, on the issue.

The former governor also spoke of her new book "Sweet Freedom" on the show. 

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