Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a rising star in the GOP, says she believes President Donald Trump was right to launch the U.S. war against Iran, rejecting the argument made by Vice President JD Vance that the GOP’s midterm losses were a sign of voters’ desire for the party to end the war and rethink its relationship with Israel.

Sanders, whose name is being floated as a possible 2028 Republican presidential contender, made the comments in an interview with Jewish Insider ahead of the Tuesday release of her book, Unapologetic: Clarity and Conviction in a World Gone Crazy, after being asked about voters’ economic concerns outweighing their support for the president’s war on the Iranian regime.  

“I think the president was right and made a really courageous move to protect American interests,” Sanders told JI. “I don’t think you can separate America First from America’s existence, and when a stated, sworn enemy says that their main objective is to wipe you off of the planet, and they’re pursuing nuclear weapons, then you have to stop that and prevent that.” 

“The president has been right to say that we are not going to allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon and to not let the bullies be in charge,” she continued. “It is a very difficult decision to make, but that’s what leadership is: It is making hard decisions and doing things that can be extremely difficult and challenging. I think the president was right to ensure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon and that he’s protecting American interests.”

The Arkansas governor, who was reelected to a second term last Tuesday, reiterated her support for the Jewish state when asked about the divisions within the Republican Party over its future approach to the U.S.-Israel relationship, differentiating herself from Vance and other Israel critics.

“Israel has been a strong ally and one of the few bright spots in a really rough neighborhood in the Middle East,” she said. “We have to remember who our enemy is. Who is the person who repeatedly and openly and publicly states that they hope for our total destruction and demise? It’s Iran. It’s not Israel. That shouldn’t be who our fight is with, but the person who is trying to take us out.”

She pointed to Gov.-elect Byron Donalds’ (R-FL) victory in what was a surprisingly competitive Florida gubernatorial contest and Republicans holding the line in Oklahoma and Tennessee as “bright spots” for the Republican Party. 

Asked about her decision to continue emphasizing her connection to the Jewish state during a moment when prospective candidates on both sides of the aisle are considering how to approach the U.S.-Israel relationship going forward, Sanders noted that while there “is a strategic relationship and alliance there, for me, there’s also a personal one,” pointing to her early Holocaust education as a result of her trips to Israel with her father, U.S. Ambassador to Israel and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

“I saw what happens when good people don’t stand up to the bad guys, when good people don’t fight evil. We don’t want to see that happen again,” Sanders told JI. “I think it’s not just a strategic, but certainly a spiritual and a right-versus-wrong, good-versus-evil moral decision that we have to make. I want to be on the right side of that.”

Sanders’ comments come after she comfortably won reelection in a red state that didn’t see much of a Democratic wave. She won reelection by a double-digit margin, with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and swing-district Rep. French Hill (R-AR) also comfortably prevailing — even as other Southern red states saw significant GOP erosion. 

Asked if she envisioned herself as a 2028 presidential candidate, Sanders told JI: “The ink has not even dried on the last election, and people are already ready to jump. I love my job. I love what I get to do. I just got reelected to be the governor of Arkansas, and very much look forward to doing that for the next four years.”