Huckabee slams rumor, denies he might endorse Trump

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- One day before the Iowa caucuses, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said speculation that he will endorse Donald Trump later this week may be coming from opponents hoping to undermine his campaign.

The former Arkansas governor, denying that he's preparing to back one of the other presidential hopefuls, said Sunday that his focus is on winning in Iowa.

"We plan to surprise, shock and mystify people," he told reporters shortly before addressing a room packed with supporters at a West Des Moines coffee shop.

The winner of the 2008 Iowa caucuses said he had no advance knowledge that the New York billionaire would be speaking in Little Rock on Wednesday -- a stop recently added to Trump's itinerary -- and portrayed speculation that Huckabee will drop out of the race as political dirty tricks.

"I think that kind of stuff's being planted by other candidates because they want to say Huckabee's really not serious. Well, I'm dead serious. We are not endorsing anybody. Not this week. I have no intention of being anywhere near Little Rock on Wednesday. That's not where my schedule has me and whoever makes that up has absolutely zero, I mean, zero knowledge of what's going on."

The candidate also rejected suggestions that he denounce commercials, paid for by an independent pro-Huckabee political action committee, that criticized U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a fellow Southern Baptist, for not tithing.

Evangelical Christians are a crucial voting bloc in Iowa and many of them believe that the Bible requires them to give a tenth of their income (a tithe) to churches or charities.

Tax returns released by the Cruz family showed it giving only about 1 percent of its income to charity.

On Saturday, U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said the ads are improper and that Huckabee ought to denounce messages touted by his allies.

"I haven't heard him say anything to call them down and call them out. He's got a PAC that's insulting Ted Cruz's Christian faith and when people do that they're going to have to answer to St. Peter for such a sin," King, a Cruz supporter, said in an interview.

Asked Sunday whether the commercial was appropriate, Huckabee said, "I'll let people make that choice, but I do think your personal integrity is important. If we think charity should be done by the people and churches rather than government, then how does that happen? It happens when people who are Christian give generously to their churches and they can handle poverty programs. Otherwise what you end up with is government taking over ... I think the churches would do a lot better, but Christians have to step up and act like Christians."

With the Iowa focus just hours away, faith came up repeatedly during the day.

On Sunday morning, Huckabee attended worship services at Walnut Creek Church in Windsor Heights, which is led by a longtime supporter, pastor Terry Amann. And Sunday evening, he was scheduled to appear at a screening of God's Not Dead 2. The faith-friendly film was partially shot in Little Rock and Huckabee makes a cameo appearance.

At the church, he was greeted by many worshippers, including a congregant wearing a "Choose Cruz" T-shirt.

That churchgoer, Adam Bauer of West Des Moines, told a reporter afterward that he voted for Huckabee eight years ago and admires the Arkansan, but couldn't vote for him this time.

The encounter was cordial. "I said, 'I'm sorry for not supporting you' and he said, 'I'm sorry, too,'" Bauer said.

Later in the day, Huckabee got a more enthusiastic reception when he traveled to Des Moines.

Someone had parked a red, white and blue tractor along the street with a Huckabee sign leaning against it.

Inside, people swarmed the coffee shop, greeting the candidate loudly and enthusiastically.

Every inch of the room was full and people spilled out into the halls.

Facing the crowd, Huckabee stressed how hard he has worked to win, battling candidates who raised more money and received more attention from the media.

"I've pretty much spent the last eight months in Iowa," he said, noting that he had traveled "to every one of the [state's] 99 counties, not just driving by and waving or taking a photo at the courthouse but conducting town hall meetings in cities large and small and talking to voters. I still believe the way to win the caucus is the old-fashioned way -- hard work and a lot of handshaking and a lot of answering questions of real people."

The former Southern Baptist pastor held out hope that God, and Iowans, would do something miraculous on caucus night.

"I want there to be a big surprise tomorrow night. A big surprise," he said, referring to Monday. "It will be more than a surprise; it will also be a victory that I believe only God could get credit for. Tomorrow night is in God's hands and in yours. I trust his hands and, having been in Iowa so much, I trust your hands as well."

After the rally was over, he shook hands and gave interviews, but he also paused to pray, briefly, with a couple of people in the audience.

Some of the spectators said they were still undecided or merely curious.

"We didn't come down as supporters of the governor. We came down as observers, just to see what's going on. We've done that with a lot of candidates," said Jeff Fox, 61, of West Des Moines.

"It's a matter of being part of the system and being part of democracy in action," his wife, Diane, said.

But others indicated they'll be standing with Huckabee when Iowa votes.

Debbie King, 61, was one of them.

"I think we need a moral person, someone who tells the truth and does what he says," the child care provider from Ames said.

She's looking for a candidate who honors his word. "If they've proven themselves to be trustworthy people, that's important. Otherwise they can say one thing and do another. I think we've seen that too many times," she said.

Dee Dee Trevillyan, a "stay-at-home grandma of five," said she was an undecided voter when she walked into the Huckabee rally, "but I'm leaning toward him after hearing him today."

"He's got solid standards that he believes in and he doesn't waver and he doesn't apologize for them," said the 51-year-old West Des Moines resident.

"I want someone that's going to get the job done, be a respectable human being" and make Americans feel safe, she said.

A Section on 02/01/2016