Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee
on Saturday told viewers of Huckabee that he was leaving the
Fox News show.
Huckabee, a conservative celebrity,
said that he was leaving the show after six years to consider a White
House bid.
“There's been a great deal of
speculation as to whether I would run for president,” Huckabee told
viewers on Saturday. “And if I were willing to absolutely rule
that out, I could keep doing this show. But I can't make such a
declaration.”
“Now, I'm not going to make a
decision about running until late in the spring of 2015, but the
continued chatter has put Fox News into a position that just isn't
fair to them – nor is it possible for me to openly determine
political and financial support to justify a race. The honorable
thing to do at this point is to end my tenure here at Fox. Now, as
much as I have loved doing the show, I cannot bring myself to rule
out another presidential run,” he added.
From his Huckabee platform in
2012, Huckabee came to the defense of Chick-fil-A, whose president,
Dan Cathy, had been widely criticized for his opposition to allowing
gay couples to marry, calling for a day of support for the chicken
sandwich chain. While Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day drew thousands of
customers to restaurants nationwide, Cathy recently said that he
would leave the issue of marriage equality to politicians.
Huckabee also recently threatened to
leave the GOP over its muted response to the Supreme Court's decision
not to hear appeals in cases challenging gay marriage bans,
effectively legalizing such unions in numerous states.
(Related: “Horse
apples!”: Mike Huckabee lashes out at GOP over gay marriage.)