Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is set to formally endorse President Donald Trump this Friday.
The endorsement, revealed by two sources familiar with the plan, is expected to occur at a Trump rally in the Granite State, New Hampshire, just days before the state’s pivotal primary election, The Hill reported.
It can be recalled that Senator Tim Scott announced he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race last November.
“When I go back to Iowa, it will not be as a presidential candidate. I am suspending my campaign,” Tim Scott told a shocked Trey Gowdy on Fox News.
“I think the voters, who are the most remarkable people on the planet, have been really clear that they’re telling me: not now,” Scott said.
According to NBC News, Tim Scott’s staffers didn’t even know the senator was ending his campaign.
The Hill reported:
One source noted Trump and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley were angling for Scott’s backing in recent days as Trump tries to put the primary contest to bed and Haley fights for political survival.
Trump leads Haley by a double-digit margin in New Hampshire, according to a series of polls taken in the past week.
The move also harms Haley in her home state of South Carolina, where voters will head to the polls on Feb. 24. The Palmetto State is crucial to Haley’s slim hopes of winning the Republican nomination.
Scott ended his campaign two months ago after his optimistic message failed to break through with GOP primary voters, especially in early-voting states.
He routinely declined to be critical of the former president throughout his campaign, having indicated his support for Trump before Scott decided to run for the White House.
When asked for her reaction to this new development, Nikki Haley said, “We will wait and see if it happens.”
WATCH:
Nikki Haley’s first reaction to a reported Tim Scott endorsement of Donald Trump. cc: @ShaneGoldmacher pic.twitter.com/svgeBo81Ua
— Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) January 19, 2024