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 Palin, a former Alaska governor who was Republican Senator John
McCain's running mate in the 2008 election won by Democrats Barack
Obama and Joe Biden, appeared with Trump at a rally in Ames, Iowa,
two weeks before the state's Feb. 1 caucus, the country's first
nominating process ahead of the Nov. 8 election.
Trump is in a close race in Iowa with fellow conservative Republican
Ted Cruz.
Palin's folksy, plain-speaking style has won her a loyal following
among some conservatives, but she remains a polarizing figure, even
among Republicans.
It is unclear whether she can attract additional support to Trump,
whose own blunt rhetoric has helped lift him to the top of the
crowded Republican field.
"He is from the private sector, not a politician," Palin said in an
animated speech after joining the business mogul and former host of
TV's "The Apprentice" onstage. "Can I get a hallelujah?"
She described Trump as an anti-establishment candidate who would
"kick ISIS' ass," referring to the Islamic State militant group.
 Just hours after Palin backed Trump, police in Alaska said they had
arrested her eldest son, Track Palin, on suspicion of assaulting a
woman and carrying a gun while intoxicated.
Palin said there was nothing wrong with Trump being a
multibillionaire and that it did not make him an elitist, citing all
the time he had spent with construction workers as a real-estate
developer.
As Trump stood alongside, Palin said: "The status quo has got to
go," adding that the political establishment had been "wearing
political correctness kind of like a suicide vest."
In a statement before the event, Trump said he was "greatly honored"
by the endorsement. "She is a friend, and a high-quality person whom
I have great respect for."
Trump has led national opinion polls among Republicans for months
but is in a tight contest with Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, for
the support of Iowa Republicans, who lean conservative and whose
evangelical Christians comprise a major voting bloc.
Palin, who often discusses her Christian faith, is popular among
that group and endorsed Cruz when he ran for the U.S. Senate in
2012.
Cruz responded to her switch of allegiance with magnanimity.
"Regardless of what she does in 2016," he tweeted, "I will always be
a big fan."
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She devoted a large portion of her speech to deflecting criticism
from Cruz and others that Trump, who did not oppose legal abortion
at least for a time, was not a true conservative.
CELEBRITY APPEAL?
Despite the Democratic victory, Palin's 2008 vice presidential run
made her a national celebrity.
Suggesting there were no fiercer fighters for conservative values
than a small-town "hockey mom," the former beauty-pageant winner
professed a love of hunting with guns and thought it more important
that the United States increase drilling for oil than fret about
climate change.
Since resigning her governorship in 2009, Palin has worked as a
conservative political commentator and as the producer and star of
lightly staged television shows about her large family enjoying
Alaska's rugged landscapes.
But even some former admirers have wondered if her moment had
passed, particularly after a speech a year ago before conservative
Iowa voters that at times was hard to transcribe and even harder to
follow.
Joe Brettell, a Republican strategist in Texas, said he thought
Palin would not help Trump much "beyond a jolt in the news cycle."
The crowd in Ames listened to Palin warmly but was divided afterward
as to how valuable she would be. June Heidn, 62, said Palin was
"inspiring" and might help Trump appeal to female voters.
Mike Caruso, 40, said it did not help him as he weighs giving Trump
his vote.
"I think he's pretty solid without her," he said.
(Writing by Jonathan Allen; Additional reporting by Eric Beech, Amy
Tennery and Melissa Fares; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Peter Cooney
and Simon Cameron-Moore)
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