After being mostly background after her 2016 endorsement and support of then-candidate Donald Trump’s presidential run, former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin appears to be coming back to the foreground.

On Thursday, Palin made an appearance on Fox News’ Gutfeld! and let it be known that she is not vaccinated, and doesn’t plan to be. Palin contracted COVID-19 in March, and evidently recovered. She expressed on the show that she has followed the studies about natural immunity from COVID recovery being stronger than the COVID vaccines.

Co-captain of the '82 Alaska Girls Basketball State Champs – and still a straight shooter. Former Vice Presidential Nominee and Former Alaska Governor, @SarahPalinUSA joins #Gutfeld tonight!

— Gutfeld! (@Gutfeldfox) September 17, 2021

The Hill picked up on it, knowing it would be click-worthy:

“I believe in the science and I have not taken the shot,” Palin said.

Palin, once a contender for becoming the first female vice president on John McCain’s 2008 presidential ticket, used a snippet from Anthony Fauci’s argument about being previously infected with COVID-19 and building immunity.

“The Fauci-ism of the day, back then, was if you’ve had COVID — I’ve had COVID — well then mother nature was creating an immunity,” Palin said. “And even today they say you’re 27 percent more immune—”

“Twenty-seven times,” fellow guest Drew Pinsky, best known for treating celebrities on reality tv, chimed in, referencing a recent study from Israel which backed up Palin’s claims that previously infected people were significantly less likely than vaccinated people to contract the delta variant.

“So I want to ask the questions,” Palin said.

As per usual, the long knives came out. Some excoriated the Hill for bothering to give her any oxygen.

why bother publishing this? what possible gain is there for anyone but sarah palin and your shareholders in publishing this? its not informative, its the opposite of productive, its pretty bare faced why you chose do it. anything for those ad dollars.

— nullbadge (@NullBadge) September 18, 2021

Fine, but why did you have to print it? This is irresponsible and counterproductive.

— Alex Palombo (@AlexPalombo) September 18, 2021

Others expressed their disdain for Palin, because all they know is the Tina Fey caricature of her, hate Republicans, and of course, Trump.

she can see COVID-19 from her house?

— Louis R. Bridgeman (@LouisRBridgema3) September 18, 2021

Palin has always been a lightning rod, for better or worse. Now that she and husband Todd Palin are divorced, and the majority of her children are grown with lives of their own, she appears liberated to embrace that mantle and run with it, as well as pursue the media image that she wants to craft.

Palin made a surprise appearance in 2020 on the show The Masked Singer as a rapping bear, to declare in her own inimitable way, “I’m baaack!”

Sarah Palin shocked audiences when she revealed herself to be Bear on The Masked Singer — and that’s exactly what she wanted. The politician said she did the show as a “walking middle finger to the haters.”

“It was all about the mask,” she told host Nick Cannon on the Masked Singer aftershow on Wednesday. “I knew it would be so refreshing and so freeing and well, in a real respectful way, kind of a walking middle finger to the haters out there in the world where I could do whatever I wanted to do and not care what anybody said because they wouldn’t know until after the fact. So it all worked out.”

Since then, Palin has been making regular commentary and appearances on Conservative, Inc. stations like Fox News and Newsmax.

@JesseBWatters thanks for having me on @WattersWorld https://t.co/qbYqcowfyp

— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) August 29, 2021

Tonight on Newsmax! pic.twitter.com/ZqTi7WnNqS

— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) November 13, 2020

In June, the Anchorage Daily News’ feature, “Curious Alaska,” asked where she had been lately.

While they could not get an audience with her, the paper did a deep-dive into public records, and Palin’s social media, to piece together a picture of sorts:

Lacking a direct line to Palin herself, we turned to the other space where she reveals details about herself regularly: social media. Public records filled in a few more facts.

Here’s what we could gather about Sarah Palin’s life these days: She lives, at least most of the time, in the same house on Lake Lucille in Wasilla that the family has occupied for more than a decade. She applies for a Permanent Fund dividend every year, which would indicate she spends the majority of the year in Alaska. She voted, absentee, in the 2020 presidential election from Alaska, according to Division of Elections records.

Todd and Sarah’s divorce was finalized last year. He has recently purchased land in the Big Lake area, according to property records.

The Palin kids have grown up and into adult lives of their own: Bristol is a real estate agent in the Austin, Texas, area with an Instagram following bigger than her mother’s. Willow has twins and a salon in the Mat-Su. Piper has pursued nursing school. Trig, born when Palin was governor, is now in high school. It’s not clear what Track is up to but court records show all of the criminal cases against him as resolved.

Palin has even been hinting at a run for Lisa Murkowski’s Senate seat, as our Editor at Large, Kira Davis reported.

Palin told the Harvest International Ministries audience that she needed their prayers concerning running again, but she was also well aware another Republican was already in the race for Murkowski’s seat. She didn’t seem that impressed.

“There’s a female Republican who’s already jumped in the race. The scary thing is, I’ve been in politics all my life and I’ve never heard of her. So that kind of made me hesitant. And I do need prayer about whether I should or not.”

Palin went on to say that her current daily view in Alaska is a blessed one, and she can’t imagine taking her family and moving to the bubble of Washington D.C. without some difficulty. However, she did repeat that it would be up to God.

“If God wants me to do it, I will.”

Lately, Palin has been challenging NY Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Hypocrite) on some of AOC’s hot takes, first on Republicans making fun of her because she used to be a waitress:

Republicans like to make fun of the fact that I used to be a waitress, but we all know if they ever had to do a double they’d be the ones found crying in the walk-in fridge halfway through their first shift bc someone yelled at them for bringing seltzer when they wanted sparkling

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 4, 2020

Republicans like to make fun of the fact that I used to be a waitress, but we all know if they ever had to do a double they’d be the ones found crying in the walk-in fridge halfway through their first shift bc someone yelled at them for bringing seltzer when they wanted sparkling.

nar·cis·sist
/ˈnärsəsəst/ @AOC
Listen sweetie, you know how many of us waitressed through high school to save up for college? Then waitressed and blue-collared throughout to get our degrees? You know how many hard working, selfless American workers cont to do so?

— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) December 4, 2020

nar·cis·sist /ˈnärsəsəst/

@AOC

Listen sweetie, you know how many of us waitressed through high school to save up for college? Then waitressed and blue-collared throughout to get our degrees? You know how many hard working, selfless American workers cont to do so?

Pulling one’s self up from the bootstraps is inspiring, rewarding – and expected. We call it The American Dream.

— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) December 4, 2020

Pulling one’s self up from the bootstraps is inspiring, rewarding – and expected. We call it The American Dream.

You’re not special, Representative. To magnanimously think you’re set aside deserving a seat of judgment SOLELY bc you temporarily slung shots proves that condescending woe-is-me entitlement thinking is what happens when every kid gets a trophy.

-SP

— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) December 4, 2020

You’re not special, Representative. To magnanimously think you’re set aside deserving a seat of judgment SOLELY bc you temporarily slung shots proves that condescending woe-is-me entitlement thinking is what happens when every kid gets a trophy.

Then on AOC speaking out “as a feminist” against the Texas Heartbeat bill:

The fact that Palin is choosing to go toe-to-toe with a Democrat progressive “star” is a clear indication she is ready to be in the forefront again, and wearing this new Sarah 2.0 Reboot like a familiar, warm coat. With all she has gone through, Palin appears to be ready to face any media onslaught, as she has caught the flak, and has lived to tell about it—battle scars and all.

The Atlantic holds a special place in my heart.

After years bloodied in the media meat grinder – but still resolutely standing – my thoughts on this week’s “news” to consider, considering the source: pic.twitter.com/tQ5R9RDGQ9

— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) September 5, 2020

This is not just a comeback — she may be giving the media a comeuppance.