Sarah Palin endorses Donald Trump for US President

Donald Trump has had the highest honour possible in his US Presidential campaign ā€“ an endorsement from Sarah Palin.

The former governor of Alaska and staunch opponent of LGBT rights, who was the 2008 vice-presidential candidate, spoke at a campaign rally in Ames, Iowa.

The conservative pundit said: ā€œAre you ready to stump for Trump?ā€

In a statement officially announcing her endorsement, Palin said she thought Trump was ready to get US troops to ā€œkick Isisā€™ assā€, saying ā€œwe are ready for a changeā€.

Donald Trump Makes Campaign Swing Through Iowa

ā€œHe is beholden to no one but ā€˜we, the peopleā€™. He is perfectly positioned to let you make America great again,ā€ she went on.

The Republican candidate Trump, said he was ā€œproudā€ to have been given the endorsement, saying Palin is a ā€œtrusted conservativeā€.

Mentioning Palinā€™s record of being anti-abortion, Trump said she had a ā€œproven record of being fiscally modest [and] staunchly pro-life.ā€

Palin was John McCainā€™s running mate in the 2008 election until they lost to Obama.

A strong opponent of LGBT rights, she spoke in 2014 at the conference of a listed hate group that has compared same-sex marriage to the Holocaust ā€“ and  got the address of the White House wrong during her speech.

In 2013, Palin admitted to defending a homophobic rant made by anti-gay Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson without actually reading his comments.

She was later attacked by singer Sia for sampling song Titanium without permission in a speech defending Robertson.

However, despite her numerous gaffes, Trump has indicated that he would consider appointing Palin to a high-profile role in his administration.

He told a radio host: ā€œOne of the things I most admire about her is that she took so much nonsense, lies and disgusting lies. She handles it so well. Sheā€™s tough and smart and just a great woman.

Palin last year claimed she has a ā€œpolitical crushā€ on an MP for Franceā€™s far-right National Front.