America’s Most Conservative Governor Delivers on Promises

OXON Hill, Md.— Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders aspires to make Arkansas the most conservative state in America. And with a growing list of conservative accomplishments, she appears intent on delivering.

Following her CPAC appearance Saturday, Sanders spoke exclusively with The Daily Signal about her approach to governing, legislative priorities, and her take on President Donald Trump’s first month in office. (Sanders served as his press secretary for nearly two years from 2017 to 2019.)

Watch the full interview on The Daily Signal’s YouTube channel or read the transcript—edited for length and clarity—below.

Rob Bluey: You were introduced by Mercedes Schlapp as the No. 1 conservative governor. Tell us how you earned that distinction?

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders: I’m very proud to be the most conservative governor in the country. We focused on things that are just conservative principles and then actually put them into place.

I’ve cut taxes three times in the last two years; focused on rebuilding our K-12 education system by opening up universal school choice, getting rid of indoctrination and CRT; focusing on building safer, stronger communities. We’ve cracked down on crime. I’ve sent the Arkansas National Guard to the border two different times.

So really just stepping up, implementing conservative policy in large part because we had a federal government before Donald Trump got back in the White House that was so broken and so dysfunctional that it was falling on the shoulders of Republican governors to step up. And that’s exactly what we did.

I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish in a short amount of time.

Bluey: You signed a phone-free bill for students in K-12. Why was that an important priority for you?

Sanders: Over the last 10 years, we have seen an absolute skyrocket when it comes to depression, anxiety, suicide rates, lack of participation in the classroom. We know that the biggest culprit of all of those things are the presence and almost just exclusive use of cellphones and social media.

Removing that distraction from the classroom—but also taking that pressure away from the students of constantly seeing did somebody respond and somebody like my post during the school day—allows them not only to focus, but will increase their mental health as well.

We started with a pilot program, instituted that into a handful of schools earlier this year, and the results we’ve seen are amazing: 51% difference and drop in drug use in the schools where we’ve implemented a no-phone policy. We’ve seen aggression and behavioral problems dropped by 50%. So many positive things coming from it. We’re proud that now every single school in the state will be bell-to-bell no cell.

Bluey: K-12 is just one of your priorities. You’ve also looked at higher ed, making sure that you’re eliminating the woke DEI agenda from many of the universities in the state. Have you faced resistance from some of the establishment in those universities?

Sanders: You know, we spent a lot of time my first couple of years in office focusing heavily on K-12. So it’s natural that the next step is to lean into higher education. We’re focusing a lot on that during this [legislative] session, and not just getting rid of the indoctrination, but also creating pathways.

I’m a mom of only three kids, but I know that just within my family all three kids need something different. They learn different. The environment they’re going to be successful in is going to be different. We want to make sure every single student has a pathway to success in Arkansas. We’re doing that, and we’re also getting some of the craziness out of the way.

No longer can you have an excused absence for a walkout or a protest in Arkansas. That’s one of the big things that we’ve seen that’s taking place on college campuses around the country. We’re going to eliminate that.

We’re also making sure that if you destroy school property, until you pay for that to be fixed, you cannot receive your certificate or degree. And so putting some things in place that remind people why they’re on campus, getting rid of some of the crazy indoctrination, wokeness, and really getting focused on what matters when it comes to education.

Bluey: Shifting topics, I know you’ve also made it a priority to make sure that China isn’t buying land in Arkansas. What are you doing on that front?

Sanders: We have seen just an infiltration of China, whether it’s on our farmland and our businesses.

They are one of the greatest threats that we have as a country. And we really have to take a harder look at all the places they’re trying to step into. And farmland being one of the big ones. Obviously, agriculture is incredibly important in a state like Arkansas. We passed legislation that allows us to kick a Chinese company off of our farmland and out of our state.

And we did that just last year. And not only did we kick them out of our state, but we fined them for breaking the law and being there. And they were forced to write a check for nearly $300,000 to the state of Arkansas. We’re continuing to investigate other companies and we’ll continue to stay strong on this front.

Bluey: I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask you, given your former role in the White House, how you think President Trump is doing in the second term, specifically when it comes to communicating to the American people?

Sanders: The president is absolutely crushing it. He is moving at warp speed. He’s delivering on all the things he said he was going to do and doing it faster than I think anybody even expected that he might be able to.

We knew that Donald Trump would get things done and get them done fast. I don’t think we had even the level of confidence of what he’s been able to do so fast this time around. And I think that’s because there’s such a different feel. He has a greater level of support from coast to coast from people who want to see him deliver. And I don’t think anyone in the country is disappointed in what he’s been able to do so far.

I hope he can keep it up over the course of the next four years because it’s remarkable to watch.

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