Sanders on BBQ, politics, and sneaking out of the governor’s mansion | On The Road

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
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**Jonathan Martin** (0:17)
Hey, folks, I'm Jonathan Martin. I write a column for POLITICO, as most of you know, but I'm starting a new show that we're calling On The Road to capture what's happening in American politics this year in the midterms and also looking forward to 2028 I was really eager to sit down with some of the biggest political newsmakers in America and do so on their terrain. And I couldn't think of a better spot to begin than Arkansas. And we're gonna begin this series talking to somebody that knows from political history, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. She's the daughter of a governor herself. She worked for President Trump in his first term as press secretary, and now she's running for reelection to her second term as Arkansas's first female governor. Now where better to have a conversation with a southern governor than a barbecue joint? We're starting On The Road here in the Arkansas capital at Wright's Barbecue. This is going to be a candid, wide-ranging conversation. And like the best conversations, it's going to be had over a fantastic meal. This is On The Road with Jonathan Martin. Well, I appreciate you're doing this. So, this is the first of On The Road, and the point is to talk to folks about food, politics, place, as sort of the three things that we say. And I couldn't think of somewhere better to do it than Little Rock and Arkansas and here at Wrights, which is taking off, right? I mean, Wrights has really become one of the great new stories of Arkansas.

**Sarah Huckabee Sanders** (1:45)
It's like an institution. People absolutely love the food, love the service. There's a great sense of welcoming and community that they bring to every location. I don't know how they managed to do that, but it is incredible food, great people, and the team that they have built and ownership are just people who love Arkansas, love the Razorbacks, love to have a good time.

**Jonathan Martin** (2:11)
The official barbecue of the Arkansas Razorbacks.

**Sarah Huckabee Sanders** (2:13)
So that's all a plus. Now, I do have a question for you. I know you're supposed to be asking me the questions. This is unbelievable.

**Jonathan Martin** (2:19)
We're like five minutes in here. She's already turning the tables on me.

**Sarah Huckabee Sanders** (2:21)
But if you are starting at Rites in Arkansas on the day that the Razorbacks play the Longhorns, it will never get better. So you've really kind of done this backwards. You've set the bar too high.

**Jonathan Martin** (2:33)
Well, stay tuned America. We're going to try and see where else we can go. And look at that timing. There we go. We got some sausage. We got some brisket. We got ribs. The cool thing about Rites is it's got a bit of a Texas flair to it. So they do the-

**Sarah Huckabee Sanders** (2:45)
Whoa.

**Jonathan Martin** (2:46)
No, I'm sorry. They're playing a long orange tonight.

**Sarah Huckabee Sanders** (2:48)
It's been a long message.

**Jonathan Martin** (2:50)
But you got the sausage and brisket, and you got the pickles and the onions, which is a bit of a Texas vibe, but obviously ribs, Arkansas, and the mac and cheese, it's more of a traditional Arkansas thing.

**Sarah Huckabee Sanders** (3:01)
So my husband, who's from Kansas City- Yes. And is-

**Jonathan Martin** (3:05)
Barbecue guy.

**Sarah Huckabee Sanders** (3:05)
And barbecue snob, really.

**Jonathan Martin** (3:07)
Totally.

**Sarah Huckabee Sanders** (3:08)
And he loves Rites, and he gets so mad at me, though, because I will say whether or not I like a barbecue restaurant based off of, not the meat, but the sides.

**Jonathan Martin** (3:20)
The sides are crucial.

**Sarah Huckabee Sanders** (3:21)
And I want to know if they have good sides. And I think that Rites Mac and Cheese is better than any other. And I consider myself, well, he may be a barbecue snob. I'm a Mac and Cheese connoisseur, so.

**Jonathan Martin** (3:32)
Well, spoiler, I had some earlier, and it was awesome, Mac and Cheese. So it's cool to start here. But I want to talk to you about Little Rock and about Arkansas, because I think some folks don't fully know your backstory. Your dad was governor in the 1990s. You grew up in the governor's mansion where you live now, and you grew up in the same bedroom as Chelsea Clinton did a decade earlier, right? So you grew up in politics. You grew up eating barbecue on the campaign trail and going to places like Hope where your dad grew up, and Bill Clinton grew up, and they had the watermelon festival.