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Cruz aide ‘deeply disappointed’ if Palin endorses Trump

by Jesse Byrnes - 01/19/16 8:53 AM ET

A top aide to Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) said Tuesday that he would be “deeply disappointed” if Sarah Palin endorsed his Republican presidential rival Donald Trump.

Cruz communications director Rick Tyler unloaded on Trump during an interview on CNN’s “New Day” when asked if such an endorsement would be a “blow” to the Cruz campaign.

{mosads}”I think it would be a blow to Sarah Palin, because Sarah Palin has been a champion of the conservative cause and if she was going to endorse Donald Trump, sadly she would be endorsing someone who’s held progressive views all their life on the sanctity of life, on marriage, on partial-birth abortion, he supported [the] TARP bailout — it goes on and on and on,” Tyler said.

“Donald Trump claims he’s changed all those views. But I think if it was Sarah Palin, let me just say I would be deeply disappointed,” Tyler added.

Speculation has intensified on whether the former Alaska governor or someone such as Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. would endorse Trump.

Trump told New Hampshire voters on Monday that he would be getting a “big endorsement” on Tuesday, according to the Washington Examiner. Trump is slated to be in Iowa on Tuesday.

Palin, the 2008 vice presidential candidate who backed Cruz’s Senate bid, has repeatedly praised Trump during his White House campaign, including over his proposal last month to ban Muslims from the U.S.

She remarked to CNN last month about “what a nice problem to have if it came down to Cruz and Trump.”

Tags 2016 endorsements 2016 GOP primary Donald Trump Sarah Palin Ted Cruz