Mike Huckabee's 11 Most Bizarre Quotes

On Tuesday, former governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee announced he was running for president in 2016. A (frequently) recurring theme in his announcement speech was going "from Hope to higher ground," a phrase he uttered passionately numerous times as he riled the crowd up in his hometown of Hope, Arkansas. As Huckabee prepares to kick off his presidential campaign, let's take a look back at what other notable phrases he's uttered in the past. The southern politician certainly hasn't been short on contentious, factually questionable, and downright bizarre quotes.

At his live announcement event, Huckabee took to the podium on Tuesday and told the audience, "I am a candidate for president of the United States of America." The ordained Southern Baptist minister has been a favorite among evangelical Christians, but now that he's entered the race, he'll have to widen his appeal beyond social conservatives. To do just that, the 59-year-old outlined his platform after announcing his bid, commenting on a wide variety of issues.

For example, when it comes to radical Islam, Huckabee thinks Obama is too soft. He also disagreed with the Supreme Court's expected decision to overturn states' gay marriage bans, saying, "The Supreme Court is not the supreme being." And he called the proposed nuclear deal with Iran "terrible."

Never one to hold back his opinions, Huckabee has made quite a name for himself for spouting perplexing sound bites. Here are 11 of Huckabee's most bizarre quotes.

On Gay Marriage

The socially conservative Huckabee has compared gay marriage to everything from bestiality to drinking alcohol and swearing. In a 2008 interview with the website Beliefnet, when asked whether his goal was to conform the Constitution to the Bible, Huckabee said:

Well, I don’t think that’s a radical view to say we’re going to affirm marriage. I think the radical view is to say that we’re going to change the definition of marriage so that it can mean two men, two women, a man and three women, a man and a child, a man and animal. Again, once we change the definition, the door is open to change it again. I think the radical position is to make a change in what’s been historic.

In February, while defending himself for having gay friends and associates on CNN's State of the Union, Huckabee suggested that homosexuality was just another "lifestyle."

People can be my friends who have lifestyles that are not necessarily my lifestyle. I don't shut people out of my circle or out of my life because they have a different point of view. ... I don't drink alcohol, but gosh — a lot of my friends, maybe most of them, do. You know, I don't use profanity, but believe me, I've got a lot of friends who do. Some people really like classical music and ballet and opera — it's not my cup of tea.

On Gun Control

An avid gun enthusiast, Huckabee has made it clear on countless occasions that he opposes gun control. One line in his book God, Guns, Grits and Gravy , which came out this January, sums up his entire stance on gun control pretty neatly:

In the world I come from and choose to live in, 'gun control' means that you hit the target.

Another passage brings up the Holocaust to further emphasize his point (yup, he went there):

A haunting question has always been, 'why did the Jews obey the Nazis and march from their homes and businesses to the train stations, boarding cattle cars so they could so they could be hauled off to camps of mass murder and torture?' The inescapable conclusion, at least in part: because the Nazi's had guns and the Jews didn't.

On Hillary Clinton

Huckabee made a random swipe at the Democratic candidate for 2016 during the Nov. 28, 2007, Republican presidential debate when asked to comment on the U.S.'s space program:

We need to put more money into science and technology and exploration. Now whether we need to send somebody to Mars, I don't know, but I'll tell you what, if we do, I've got a few suggestions and maybe Hillary could be on the first rocket to Mars.

On Obama

Huckabee has never minced words when it comes to Obama. In God, Guns, Grits and Gravy, he straightforwardly declares:

Barack Obama is the least experienced and most liberal person ever elected president.

In 2011, two days after he inaccurately suggested that Obama grew up in Kenya, Huckabee commented on the president's worldview on the conservative radio show Focal Point:

I do think he has a different worldview and I think it's in part molded out of a very different experience. Most of us grew up going to Boy Scout meetings, you know, our communities were filled with Rotary Clubs, not madrassas.

On His Unfamiliarity With Foreign Policy

On his campaign trail in 2007, when asked what his stance was on foreign policy, Huckabee fumbled an answer to radio host Don Imus:

And the ultimate thing is, I may not be the expert that some people are on foreign policy, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Huh?He tried to justify his lack of experience again in a 2008 interview with Quad-City Times when they asked him to comment on the most recent National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear capability:

The point I’m trying to make is that, on the campaign trail, nobody’s going to be able, if they’ve been campaigning as hard as we have been, to keep up with every single thing, from what happened to Britney last night to who won Dancing With the Stars.

On The Senate

In 2008, Huckabee gave a pretty specific and imaginative answer to the question, "Would you ever consider leaving the presidential race and challenge Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor?"

There's a greater chance that I would dye my hair green and get tattoos all over my body and do a rock tour with Amy Winehouse than there is that I would run for the Senate, so let me put that to rest. Somehow, just imagine me, green hair, on tour with Amy Winehouse, ain't happening, not running for the Senate, done deal, absolutely no way.

On Congress (And John Edwards)

During the May 15, 2007, Republican presidential debate, Huckabee quipped:

We've had a Congress that's spent money like John Edwards at a beauty shop.

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