RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
When Sarah Palin endorsed Donald Trump for president this week, it was a surprise move but one that seemed perfectly logical. In fact, Donald Trump's rise is a natural extension of the kind of politics that Palin herself embraced after her unsuccessful run for vice president, combining populism, rage and celebrity. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.
DON GONYEA, BYLINE: From her very first moments on the national stage, it was clear that Sarah Palin was not your typical politician.
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SARAH PALIN: I love those hockey moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull - lipstick.
GONYEA: That ad-libbed line from the Republican National Convention in the summer of 2008 made her a conservative superstar with hockey moms and lots of others. And the campaign would provide glimpses of the VP candidate's future as a political rabble-rouser.
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PALIN: Our opponent is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country.
GONYEA: Barack Obama defeated the McCain-Palin ticket, but in many ways that gave birth to the tea party. And Palin was exactly what the movement needed.
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PALIN: The tea party movement is not a top-down operation. It's a ground-up call to action that is forcing both parties to change the way that they're doing business, and that's beautiful.
GONYEA: That's from a tea party convention in Nashville in 2010. Activist William Temple spoke to NPR that day.
WILLIAM TEMPLE: Oh, I love the lady who killed a moose. She's the strongest man in the Republican Party, Sarah Palin. If I can get close enough, I'll give her a kiss.
GONYEA: Meanwhile, Donald Trump watched Palin's rise as she channeled and fueled the anger felt by many voters toward Washington, voters who described President Obama as a socialist or a Muslim or not American. On that latter point, Trump was relentless. This is from NBC's "Today" Show five years ago.
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DONALD TRUMP: He doesn't have a birth certificate or he hasn't shown it. He has what's called a certificate of live birth.
GONYEA: As Trump promoted the so-called birther movement, Palin cheered him on.
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PALIN: I respect what he's doing and putting his money where his mouth is. He's actually investigating his speculation there on Obama's birth certificate
GONYEA: That's from Fox News in 2010 where she also offered some advice to Trump to do even more on more topics
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PALIN: Right now, he's got the spotlight, he's got the megaphone. Now is his opportunity to really force a shift in debate and discussion in this country.
GONYEA: In 2011, Trump and Palin created a stir with a high-profile meeting in New York City, just as the 2012 presidential race was taking shape.
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TRUMP: She's a great woman and a terrific woman and a good friend.
GONYEA: They shared lunch - New York-style pizza. Afterward, reporters asked Trump if Palin should run. He said he'd love her to run. Here's Palin that day.
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PALIN: What do we have in common? A love for this country and a desire to see our economy get put back on the right track.
GONYEA: Hearing Palin's speeches over the years and listening to Trump on the campaign trail, you have two people speaking to the same audience, hitting the same notes - Obamacare, radical Islamic terrorism, Obama's weak foreign policy, poor treatment of veterans, immigration and always the language is proudly politically incorrect.
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TRUMP: I would bomb the [expletive] out of them.
They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists.
Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.
GONYEA: Both of them, fed up with how the country is being run, even have similar catchphrases
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PALIN: It is time to take our country back.
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TRUMP: We will make America great again.
GONYEA: Trump and Palin both also love attacking what she has labeled the lame-stream media. At Trump rallies, he calls reporters dishonest and treacherous. Now here's Palin grabbing the national spotlight again by endorsing Trump.
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PALIN: Mr. Trump, you're right. Look back there in the press box. Heads are spinning. Media heads are spinning. This is going to be so much fun.
GONYEA: Sarah Palin with Donald Trump, kindred spirits in Iowa this week. Don Gonyea, NPR News, Des Moines.