



Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed Republican front-runner Donald Trump for president on Tuesday afternoon. Palin’s daughter Bristol penned a piece earlier in the day encouraging her mother to endorse Trump over contender Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas).

The Trump campaign issued a statement announcing the endorsement and humorously turning the knife in Cruz by quoting the front-runner’s Lone Star State rival:

Palin’s endorsement is amongst the most sought after and influential amongst Republicans[…]She helped launch the careers of several key future leaders of the Republican Party and conservative movement. Senator Ted Cruz notes: “I would not be in the United States Senate were it not for Gov. Sarah Palin…She can pick winners.”

Trump and Palin are relatively familiar with one another. Palin interviewed Trump last August, and according to the New York Times, Palin, Trump, and his wife, Melania, all “shared a pizza in New York in June 2011.” It is unclear whether that pizza was the start of a powerful political relationship, but it is certainly fodder for what should be a quality Saturday Night Live skit this weekend.