BREAKING: Palin Endorses Trump For President, NYT Confirms

Guy Benson | January 19, 2016 9:01 AM

UPDATE - Is this official? You betcha, according to the New York Times:

Breaking News: Sarah Palin has endorsed Donald Trump in the GOP primary, helping him appeal to Tea Party loyalists https://t.co/j6RImSsvyL
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 19, 2016

and away we go...

*** Original Post ***
I'll admit it -- when this speculation began mounting yesterday, I wasn't remotely sold on the idea that Palin was poised jump aboard the Trump Train when so many influential figures within the conservative talk radio constellation are at long last blasting The Donald and rallying to Cruz. The Palin speculation seemed even less plausible when this rumor leaked:

Multiple little birdies tell me Jerry Falwell, Jr. is going to endorse Trump for president and come to Iowa with him tomorrow.
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) January 18, 2016

Falwell bestowed a fulsome introduction upon Donald "Two Corinthians" Trump just yesterday -- much to the dismay of many in the evangelical community -- so Deace's report made sense. Surely that's the big announcement and "special guest" Trump's been pumping on social media, right? Not so fast, my friends:

Wow. Palin's jet following Trump campaign; endorsement imminent. Broken via flight records: https://t.co/BALN6KGFSE https://t.co/Z4rFX0mirY
— Matt Popovich (@mpopv) January 19, 2016

Interesting. But so what if there's a private jet bound from Anchorage to Iowa? That could be a coincidence. Or...uh, maybe not:

@LPDonovan did you see it went to Tulsa next https://t.co/T3c292TN11 https://t.co/s6q4PMgPSG
— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) January 19, 2016

Oh my. The jet is headed to ~~Ames~~ Des Moines, then hopping over to Tulsa? Exactly mirroring Trump's campaign itinerary? Dude. This might actually be happening. And what a splash it would make less than two weeks before Iowa. Should Palin's endorsement both come to fruition (there

have been clues along the way), and push Trump over the top, emotionalist nationalistic populism will have officially -- perhaps temporarily -- supplanted principled, policy-driven, limited-government conservatism as the dominant strain within the American right-wing. I'll leave you with this, because why not?

Buckle up, amigos. If you need me, I'll be passed out under my desk:

Gonna watch the Trump/Palin rally with the largest bottle of bourbon I can find.
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) January 19, 2016

UPDATE - The Washington Post wonders if the Iowa leg is merely a coincidental refueling stop for an unrelated flight. But that would be out of the way, geographically. The Palin buzz continues to grow, to the point of rival campaigns doing preemptive damage control:

Cruz spokesman: "Deeply" disappointing if Palin endorses Trump https://t.co/Iofd2LoB1u pic.twitter.com/H1floEjZqA
— The Hill (@thehill) January 19, 2016