Former Arkansas Governor is a talented communicator. Few people realize how close he came to winning the GOP nomination in 2018. And now Huckabee is gearing up for another run at the White House.
So it is surprising to see him shilling for a product called the “Diabetes Solution Kit.” In an internet infomercial currently running, Huckabee is seen promoting a cure for diabetes that involves eating lots of cinnamon. But when asked recently if this was how he cured his own diabetes, Huckabee denied it had anything to do with this $19.95 “kit.”
Additionally, Huckabee sells ads in his political commentary newsletters (that’s also weird for a serious candidate). And one of the ads is for a miracle Bible cure for cancer.
Huckabee is facing a growing scrutiny and reputation problem. Is he a serious candidate? Or is he just a huckster for hire?
The odd thing about Huckabee is that unlike, say, Herman Cain and a whole raft of recent presidential candidates, Huckabee doesn’t need to run for President to get TV gigs, book deals and paid speaking gigs because Huckabee got all of those things after his 2008 campaign. In fact, Huckabee is giving up a ton of money to run for President by stepping down from his Fox TV job. So his current activities remain a mystery.
It is true that Ronald Reagan was a spokesperson for all sorts of commercial products before he became President, even for cigarettes. But that all ended decades before he became president. With Huckabee, the shilling for miracle cancer cures is happening right now, only months before the GOP primaries begin.
At some point, Huckabee has got to focus on what his top goal is for the next year. Is it amassing a lot of money or a lot of power? In the short term, he can’t have both.
TJ Walker is a media training expert and communications consultant. You can reach him at Media Training Worldwide at 212.764.4955.