Washington: White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, a fierce loyalist of President Donald Trump who channelled his combativeness toward the news media, will leave her job at month’s end for a possible political future in her home state of Arkansas, Trump said on Thursday.
Sanders, who has worked with Trump since the early days of his unconventional run for office and became a national public figure in her own right, is the latest in a long line of senior advisers to leave the White House.
Sanders, 36, often compared the antics of the press corps to the behaviour of her three young children and had largely backed Trump’s dismissal of the news media as “the enemy of the people.”
While ending her daily press briefings, she was often helpful to reporters behind the scenes.
She called the job “an honour of a lifetime” but said she was eager to spend time with her children, who are just getting out of school for the summer.
“I’ve loved every minute, even the hard minutes,” Sanders said at a White House event, called onstage by Trump to a standing ovation, her voice trembling with emotion. “I have three amazing kids and I’m going to spend a little more time with them.”
“She’s a warrior,” said Trump, who announced her departure on Twitter shortly before the event. “We’ve been through a lot together, and she’s tough, but she’s good.”
After 3 1/2 years, our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2019
Sanders’ role had developed into that of a senior adviser and confidante of the president, one who is regularly brought into senior-level meetings.
She told reporters that she informed Trump of her decision on Thursday and that “he couldn’t have been nicer, more supportive, more understanding, more encouraging than he was.”
She did nothing to squelch speculation she might someday run for governor of Arkansas, a position once held by her father, Mike Huckabee, who twice ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination, including in 2016.
“I’ve learned a long time ago never to rule anything out. I do look forward to going back home,” she told reporters.
Trump said he liked the idea.
“If we can get her to run for the governor of Arkansas, I think she’ll do very well,” Trump said.
(Reuters)