Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee told
Newsmax TV on Wednesday that Donald Trump was "as welcome to the race as anyone" but that other contenders should "swim in their own lane."
"I'm certainly not taking the bait on commenting on what he said or what he should've said, because I'm making speeches every day," the former Arkansas governor told "Newsmax Prime" host J.D. Hayworth. "I'm happy to comment on those.
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"I couldn't start commenting on the other 374 Republicans running for office, because then I'd never get my message out," Huckabee added. "I'd just be commenting on somebody else's message.
"Republicans need to focus on what they're doing, why they're running, swim in their own lane. This is the Olympics; this is the big league.
"Don't jump in somebody else's lane and swim on top of them. Just get over in your lane and swim, do your swim and let people judge at the end whether or not you're the gold medalist."
Huckabee said his 12 years as a Baptist member in Arkansas has given him solid preparation for the White House.
"There is no job in the world — period — that better prepares a person to understand the frailties and realities of human life than being a pastor," he told Hayworth. "I was in a job in which I saw the best and worst of humanity.
"I saw it from the cradle to the grave. There is not a social pathology in all the world that I couldn't put a name and a face to," he added. "I watched people who did everything from commit suicide to go through the most horrible moments of life. I also saw them at their best."
Huckabee's campaign, which began in May, is his second for the White House. He first ran in 2008, winning the Iowa caucuses.
He finished second in the 2008 delegate count and third in the popular vote to win a number of states, besting both Arizona Sen. John McCain, the eventual nominee, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
His best lesson from the earlier run: patience.
"I learned to be patient in this process," he told Hayworth. "I watch a lot of guys that are in it for the first time. They allow the press to crack the whip and get them to react to things and schedule things and do things because they feel like all is going to be decided in July of 2015 before the first caucus votes even cast in February of next year.
"I learned very, very clearly that this is a marathon. It is not a sprint and one has to be methodical, thorough and take this one step at a time, lay out your plan."
Huckabee cited a Sunday school lesson from when he was 6 years old: "plan your work or keep planning.
"Don't worry about what somebody else is doing at this point. Don't get all shaken up because the polls are up one day and down the next.
"Plan your work, work your plan, stay on your feet, keep your message sincere, honest, thorough — and get out there and get voters one at a time," he said. "That's how you win."
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