In a new interview, President Obama said he sees a “straight line” from the announcement of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee to the rise of Donald Trump and “the shift in the center of gravity” for the GOP.
“I see a straight line from the announcement of Sarah Palin as the vice-presidential nominee to what we see today in Donald Trump, the emergence of the Freedom Caucus, the tea party, and the shift in the center of gravity for the Republican party,” Mr. Obama said in an interview with New York Magazine published over the weekend.
“Whether that changes, I think, will depend in part on the outcome of this election, but it’s also going to depend on the degree of self-reflection inside the Republican party,” Mr. Obama said. “There have been at least a couple of other times that I’ve said confidently that the fever is going to have to break, but it just seems to get worse.”
Mrs. Palin was plucked from relative obscurity by 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain to serve as Mr. McCain’s running mate. She announced she was quitting her job as governor of Alaska in July 2009 but remains a rock star among many in the grassroots conservative base.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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