Four years ago, Mike Huckabee used his Fox News show to announce that he had decided not to run for president.
Now he’s teasing a “very important announcement” on Saturday night. Is it about the same subject?
The former Arkansas governor didn’t specify, but on Saturday afternoon he urged his followers on Facebook and Twitter to tune in for an announcement “that will make news for sure.”
His show, called “Huckabee,” is televised Saturdays at 8 p.m. on Fox News.
It’s no secret that Huckabee has been pondering another run for president. He has been holding meetings with GOP donors and recruiting staffers for a potential campaign.
But he has been “very careful about this” — his words, in an interview with The Washington Post, in November — because of the potential conflict between his television show and a campaign.
Huckabee mounted an unsuccessful run for the Republican nomination in 2008. Later that year, he started to host the show.
Amid speculation about a possible run in 2012, he teased an announcement in May 2011 but ended up telling viewers that he’d opted against a bid: “All the factors say ‘go’ but my heart says ‘no.'”
Political prognosticators say a Huckabee run is more likely this time around.
After The Post story in November, which reported that Huckabee was rebuilding a political team, a Fox News executive said the network was “taking a serious look” at his political activity and “evaluating his current status.”
In the past, Fox has terminated the contracts of employees who take clear steps toward political candidacies, by forming an exploratory committee, for instance. In early November it severed Ben Carson’s contributor contract.
Fox has said nothing further about Huckabee’s status. A spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
On Facebook, Huckabee wrote of his announcement, “I hope you watch and encourage your friends to do the same.”
The most-liked comment underneath his post was from a female fan who wrote, “I hope you’re saying you’re going to run for president!”