Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin won't be speaking at the Republican National Convention because, according to presumptive nominee Donald Trump, she lives too far away.
"She was asked," Trump said in an
interview with the Washington Examiner on Thursday. "It's a little bit difficult because of where she is. We love Sarah. Little bit difficult because of, you know, it's a long ways away."
Palin was one of Trump's first supporters, endorsing the New York billionaire in January. She was expected to give a speech on one of the four nights of the convention in Cleveland, an 11-hour flight from Palin's Alaska home.
"Maybe my endorsement was able to kick off — logistically, I'm speaking, about the timing of everything — kick off and make an empowering movement for other conservatives, other proud clingers to their guns or God and our Constitution, the Tea Partiers, to empower them, allow them to go ahead and support the guy!" Palin said during a question and answer session with James Carville in June,
as reported by The Daily Beast.
Politico reports that Palin has made numerous trips across the country to meet with or campaign for Trump, going to California, Oklahoma, Florida, and even New York. She made her announcement of support in Des Moines, Iowa, just before that state's Republican caucus.
Despite the absence of the high-profile 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate on the speakers' roster, Trump said he remains hopeful about the convention's success.
"I think that in the end we want to get inspiration," he told the Examiner. "We want people to be inspired. We want to make America great again. We want to make America first. And, you know, that's largely what the theme is and largely what we're going to be talking about."
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