Tim Scott Reportedly Plans to Endorse Donald Trump for President, Reviving VP Rumors
Scott held off on endorsing a candidate after suspending his presidential campaign in November, despite many speculating that he could make Trump's shortlist for running mate
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is expected to endorse Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican primaries, months after dropping out of the race himself.
The New York Times reports that Scott, 57, plans to endorse Trump, 77, at a rally in New Hampshire on Friday — a move that will no doubt add fuel to rumors that the nation's only Black Republican in the Senate is being mulled as a potential running mate for the former president.
Related: South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott Drops Out of Presidential Race
Two other former GOP presidential contenders — Vivek Ramaswamy and Doug Burgum — also recently endorsed Trump after suspending their campaigns.
In endorsing Trump, Scott will be lending support to the former president over fellow South Carolinian Nikki Haley, a rising GOP candidate who is polling well in New Hampshire with days to go until the state's primary.
Scott announced his presidential campaign in May, saying, “Our party and our nation are standing at a time for choosing: Victimhood or victory.”
But in mid-November, he called it quits after failing to nab the spotlight in the GOP debates, telling Fox News host Trey Gowdy in an interview: “I love America more today than I did on May 22. But when I go back to Iowa, it will not be as a presidential candidate. I am suspending my campaign."
Related: A Psychic Went on Fox News to Predict Trump's Future on Live TV. Her Answer Is Now Going Viral
While some reports have suggested Scott could be among Trump's picks for vice president, the senator told Fox News at the time he has no intention of accepting a vice presidential nomination.
“I ran for president to be president,” he told the network in November. “I think I was called to run. I was not called to win, but I certainly was called to run. … Being vice president has never been on my to-do list for this campaign, and it’s certainly not there now.”
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Prior to joining the Senate, Scott served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He's also served one term in the South Carolina state House of Representatives and 14 years on the Charleston City Council.
Scott took office as a U.S. senator in 2013 and remains the lone Black Republican in the Senate; he and Democratic Sens. Cory Booker, Raphael Warnock and Laphonza Butler are the only sitting Black senators.
Scott propelled into the national spotlight in 2021, when he delivered the official GOP rebuttal to President Joe Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress.
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