Sarah Palin, a top Republican leader and former vice presidential candidate, endorsed the candidature of the real estate tycoon Donald Trump, just 13 days before the caucuses in the key US state of Iowa. Donald Trump received a big boost to his presidential ambition.

"I am proud to endorse Donald J Trump for President of the United States of America," Palin, a Tea Party icon, told a cheering crowd of Trump supporters at a rally in Iowa.
"Media heads are spinning! This is going to be so much fun! Are you ready to make America great again?" Palin asked the cheering crowd making her surprise announcement.

As the first ever female Vice Presidential candidate for the Republican party, Palin is a highly influential, decorated public figure having been named as one of the Smithsonian Institute's 100 Most Influential Americans of all time.

"Sarah Palin's support is a testament to my message to 'Make America Great Again'," Iowa's Republican governor, Terry Branstad said.

In his speech, Trump said he would "love" to have Palin to serve in as a Cabinet member in his administration. "She really is somebody who knows what's happening and she's a special person. She's really a special person and I think people know that," he said.

"Donald seems to be a little rattled," Texas Senator Ted Cruz told reporters before a town hall in Washington, New Hampshire on Monday. "For whatever reason, he is very, very dismayed. I guess as conservatives continue to unite behind our campaign, as his poll numbers continue to go down, he's a little testier."

"The American people want a steady hand at the helm," Cruz said The Associated Press in an interview on his campaign bus. "They don't want, I believe, a commander in chief who wakes up obsessed with the latest polls and driven to issue a frenzy of tweets. Instead, they want a principled, steady, conservative leader who will do everything necessary to protect this nation and keep America safe."

By Premji