Tim Scott, a senator from South Carolina and a former GOP presidential contender, backed Donald Trump in New Hampshire on Friday.
His fellow South Carolinian Nikki Haley appointed him to the Senate in 2012, so the endorsement is a slight to her, but it also shows how dominant Trump is at the head of the party.
Today, our nation needs a president who will seal off the southern border. At a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire, Scott proclaimed, “We need Donald Trump,” as he shared the platform with the former president.
A president who can bring the nation together is what we need. “Donald Trump is essential,” he went on to say. Your Social Security, as well as my mother’s, must be safeguarded by the next president. Donald Trump is what we need.
As he welcomed Scott to the podium, Trump mentioned that the senator had endorsed him just two days before. The Trump campaign’s choice to hold off on officially announcing it shows how important they consider his backing, and they want to make the most of his endorsement in the days leading up to the New Hampshire primary.
Several persons familiar with the matter told AWN that Trump and Scott had been secretly discussing the possibility of Trump receiving Scott’s endorsement.
According to insiders within Trump’s inner circle who spoke with AWN, the candidate’s endorsement by Scott was initially planned for before the South Carolina primary. Nevertheless, due to Haley’s unexpected surge in New Hampshire polls, the schedule was pushed.
During a Friday visit to a New Hampshire café, Scott was asked about his plans, and Haley said, “We’ll wait and see if it happens.” As she was leaving, she disregarded additional inquiries.
Statements made by her later that day included the following: “Important that Trump is aligning with all the Washington elites when he declared he wanted to drain the swamp… What the gents will do, though, is predictable.
According to a source close to Haley, the former governor of South Carolina was unaware that Scott intended to proceed with the endorsement. A source informed AWN that Haley had contacted Scott recently to request his support for the 2024 race.
Their respective circles took note of the timing of Scott’s endorsement — four days before the New Hampshire primary — because Trump has been worried about Haley’s position in the state. However, many who know them both did not find Scott’s choice to embrace the former president surprising.
By making the announcement so close to the New Hampshire primary, Trump’s campaign hopes to cast Haley in a negative light among her home state’s voters.
With a savage assault on Haley coming just before the state’s primary, Trump declared on Friday that she would “probably” not be his running partner if he were to win the Republican nominee.
A presidential candidate, she is not. Trump made the comment at the campaign event, and it’s likely that it will lead to her being passed over for the vice president position.
According to Fry, who spoke to AWN, former South Carolina governor Henry McMaster is facing a full court press from Trump’s team, and South Carolina Representatives Russell Fry and William Timmons are likely to join the former president in New Hampshire this weekend to campaign.
South Carolina’s governor, Henry McMaster, is among those who will be joining Trump in New Hampshire on Saturday for a campaign rally.
The former president’s aides have acknowledged that they think the margins are closer in New Hampshire than in any other early voting state, but Trump’s campaign has projected confidence in his victory in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary.
Starting in May, Scott made his personal story—his upbringing in poverty by a single mother in South Carolina—the fundamental storyline of his presidential campaign.
However, the senator decided to halt his campaign in November after several months of no progress. “The best way for me to be helpful” was to withhold an endorsement in the primary, he told Fox News’ Trey Gowdy, explaining why he would not support another Republican contender. Scott reiterated an issue he had brought up multiple times during the campaign: his refusal to accept the nomination for vice president.
When compared to his assaults on other major rivals, Scott’s criticism of Trump during the campaign was mild. Though he frequently voiced his approval of Trump administration initiatives, he insisted on again and again that the president lacked the support necessary to lead Republicans to a general election victory in crucial swing states.
Scott and Haley had been close friends and political partners for a long time before the 2024 campaign. Haley said that Scott had “earned the seat” due to his character and track record when she appointed him to replace Sen. Jim DeMint in 2012. Several of Scott’s financial backers swiftly shifted their support to Haley when Scott left the contest.