Huckabee, Trump Held Private Meet

Politico reports:

Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump had a one-on-one meeting last week, a sit-down that left the former Arkansas governor with the impression that the developer is indeed going to run for president.

The get-together came as Huckabee, multiple sources said, has been quietly meeting with donors in New York for the past month as he himself weighs a run.

The meeting, which Huckabee mentioned in passing on Fox News on Monday, was in New York City during a weekend when the 2008 Iowa caucuses winner was in town taping his Fox TV show.

It's unclear what the two discussed, but sources familiar with the get-together suggested the meeting was part of Huckabee's recent listening tour with donors, since Trump would be a useful supporter if he himself doesn't run for president, as he's flirting with doing right now. However, Trump has made increasingly clear to people around him that he's seriously weighing getting in — and Huckabee clearly walked away with the same impression.

"I believe that if he gets in the race he is going to be formidable because everybody knows ‘The Donald’ and money will be no object for him… and I think he’s going to get in it," Huckabee told Barbara Walters for her new SiriusXM radio show, according to excerpts posted on The Page. "I seriously believe he’s going to jump in.”

He said their meeting came after Trump had praised Huckabee on a talk show, and that a "mutual friend" set it up.

"We just had a very honest and open conversation about the process of running. ... It was kind of like two dogs sniffing around a fire hydrant together," he said, adding, "when I came out I thought, ‘this guy is going to get out there and do it.’”

Meanwhile, Huckabee has been holding a string of about a half-dozen meetings with donors or bundlers in New York. primarily from the finance industry, over the past 6 weeks, three sources told Politico.