The Huckabee Newsletter Problem

Each day, the Huckabee Post delivers news, commentary, and religiosity to nearly 330,000 Substack subscribers, many of whom pay a subscription fee. Mike Huckabee, formerly the governor of Arkansas, started the newsletter in September of 2016 and, per the about page, has since “covered three presidential elections, two presidential terms, four full Congresses and lots of news in between.” Now that Huckabee is the United States’ ambassador to Israel, the Substack promises, “That isn’t about to change.”

That’s largely been true. Save for the fact that articles no longer run under Huckabee’s byline—there is a slate of other contributors—the Huckabee Post’s tone and tenor remain much the same, and the coverage is decidedly Huckabee-forward, with pieces about Donald Trump, the administration, Israel, Gaza, and, lately, Iran. “Israel shows incredible restraint,” reads a headline from June 16. The post includes “a message from our founder, Amb. Mike Huckabee,” who “reports that there was minor damage to the US Embassy branch in Tel Aviv due to concussions from Iranian missiles.”