Palin stumps for Trump while husband hospitalized

WASHINGTON, DC: Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin stumped for Donald Trump on Monday while her husband was hospitalized in intensive care after a snowmobile accident.

The Trump campaign announced Palin was cancelling her appearance at a midday event to be at the side of her husband in Alaska, but she nevertheless spoke at an afternoon rally in Tampa, Florida.



Palin, who hasn't held elected office since 2009, has remained in the public eye as a conservative commentator and was one of the first to endorse Trump.

"Thank you guys for your prayers for my husband who is recovering right now in ICU after a little wreck on a snow machine, so thank you," she told the rally, before adding, "Big wreck."

Palin also criticized the "petty, punk-ass little thuggery stuff that's been going on with these quote-unquote protesters," referring to Trump opponents who have disrupted his rallies in recent days.

After the rally, Palin went on social media and called her husband Todd "our rock... toughest guy I know."

Palin, a former Alaska governor and Tea Party favorite, threw her support behind Trump in January, saying someone new was needed to "bust up the establishment."



Palin was John McCain's surprise choice as runningmate in 2008, when Barack Obama won the presidency.

Since then, her influence has waned, but she remains a popular figure in conservative circles as an iconoclast who often butts heads with the party leadership.