Mike Huckabee Friday praised Donald Trump's
opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal ripping the Republican Party's delegate system, describing it as a "brilliant" essay that tied "his treatment from the political class to the treatment that Americans are feeling from the political class."
"The last sentence summed it up," Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and 2016 candidate
told Greta Van Susteren on Fox News.
He then quoted the piece's final paragraph: "The political insiders have had their way for a long time. Let 2016 be remembered as the year the American people finally got theirs."
"That's why Donald Trump has done so well," Huckabee added. "He has touched that nerve of people who are sick and tired of the political class running all over them."
Despite the accolades, the former governor quickly told Van Susteren at the start of the interview: "I have not endorsed anybody. I think everybody believes I'm a supporter.
"I have been a defender of Donald Trump because I feel like a lot of people have misrepresented his message," Huckabee continued. "He beat me, so it's not like I'm putting my arms around him, in an endorsing way.
"But he is the leader. He is the one who has captured the attention of America."
Huckabee quit the race for the 2016 nomination in February.
He added that Trump most likely chose the Journal for the op-ed because the newspaper's readers were "least ready to receive it.
"All day long, people have been talking about it," Huckabee added. "It was a smart move on his part showing that uncanny savvy he has in getting the media to focus on what he is saying."
While acknowledging that "the rules are indeed the rules," he added that Trump has been right on one point: "Sometimes, these rules can be manipulated."
"It really means that when a person gets the most votes, you would assume that they are going to get the delegates. But if you don't even have votes, it may be what's legal, but I think a lot of people would say that's just not right."
By slamming Colorado's system, Trump is forcing state and national Republican Party officials — even rival Ted Cruz, who won 34 delegates via a state convention last Saturday — to explain the process, Huckabee said.
"In politics, when you're explaining, you're losing," he told Van Susteren. "They're losing. He's winning the argument because all he has to do is to say, 'Gee, it wasn't fair.'
"They have to go in and explain the fine print — and that's where you always lose politically is when you have to explain something."
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