Cooper Allen

USA TODAY

Donald Trump picked up the endorsement of one of the biggest names in the Republican Party on Tuesday, as Sarah Palin announced she was backing the billionaire real estate developer in the GOP presidential race.

“Are you ready to make America great again?” Palin exhorted a crowd at an Iowa rally, invoking Trump's campaign slogan.

Palin cited Trump's readiness to be commander in chief and blasted President Obama. “We are ready for a change," Palin said. "We are ready, and our troops deserve the best.” She also slammed "establishment candidates," without naming names, and praised Trump for "going rogue left and right."

Trump said he was "honored" to pick up Palin's backing.

On Sunday, Trump said on Twitter that he'd be making a "big announcement" on Tuesday in Ames, Iowa. A Facebook post from Trump that same day indicated he would have "a very special guest in attendance."

Ahead of the event, speculation focused on Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, as Trump's "very special guest."

An adviser to Ted Cruz, who is locked in a tight contest with Trump in Iowa, sought to dismiss the endorsement before it was announced as potentially damaging to Palin's brand.

"I think it’d be a blow to Sarah Palin, because Sarah Palin has been a champion for the conservative cause, and if she was going to endorse Donald Trump, sadly, she would be endorsing someone who’s held progressive views all their life on the sanctity of life, on marriage, on partial-birth abortion," Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler said on CNN's New Day.

That didn't sit well with a certain member of the Palin family. Daughter Bristol Palin made clear on Tuesday what she hoped her mom would do in a blog post titled "Is THIS Why People Don’t like Cruz?" She wrote that she liked Cruz and believed all of the candidates were better choices than Hillary Clinton. However, she added, "after hearing what Cruz is now saying about my mom, in a negative knee-jerk reaction, makes me hope my mom does endorse Trump." She also noted that her mom supported Cruz in the past and blasted him for "turning against my mom."

Bristol Palin's broadside against Cruz seemed to be based on Tyler's comments on CNN, not anything said by the Texas senator. In fact, Cruz himself was more conciliatory in a tweet Tuesday, saying he would not have won his 2012 Senate race without Sarah Palin's backing and that he "will always be a big fan."

Another GOP presidential hopeful, Mike Huckabee, weighed in on the impact of Palin's announcement on Cruz's bid in an interview on Fox News Channel's Your World with Neil Cavuto.

"She has never endorsed me before so it’s not a big challenge, but she has endorsed Ted Cruz when he ran for Senate and that’s got to be more of a blow to his campaign," Huckabee said.

Palin emerged as a leading voice of the Tea Party movement following the 2008 presidential election and was active during the 2010 midterm campaign, backing dozens of conservative GOP candidates across the country.

She's been a less prominent figure in recent years as other outsider, conservative candidates — such as Cruz — have emerged as favorites of the party's grass roots.

Palin and Trump have said kind words about each other during the campaign. Last summer, Trump indicated he'd love to have Palin as part of a Trump administration. The former Alaska governor told CNN in September that she'd be interested in serving as Energy secretary for Trump — "energy is my baby," she said — though she also noted she wanted to eliminate the department altogether.

During Tuesday's rally, Palin seemed ready to hit the trail for Trump with the Iowa caucuses looming in less than two weeks.

“Are you ready to stump for Trump?” Palin asked the crowd.