Concord, New Hampshire – Minutes after endorsing Donald Trump as the Republican presidential nominee, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott told Fox News it was time for the Republican Party to rally around the former president.
“I want to make sure that the only goal we’re talking about is removing Joe Biden from office,” Scott said after publicly endorsing former President Joe Biden at a Trump campaign rally in New Hampshire’s capital. “The time has come to unite the party,” he said.
Scott added, “The best way to remove Joe Biden from office is to unite the party behind Donald Trump.”
Scott ended his bid for the White House in November, becoming the third former Republican presidential candidate to endorse Trump in the past week.
Tim Scott endorses Donald Trump 4 days before New Hampshire primary
Sen. Tim Scott (R.C.) speaks as Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump looks on at a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire, Friday, January 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum endorsed Trump by joining forces with him at a rally in Indianola, Iowa, over the weekend. And billionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy on Monday night endorsed Trump, who suspended his own campaign following a disastrous defeat in the Iowa caucuses. The next night, Mr. Ramaswamy joined Mr. Trump at a rally in Atkinson, New York.
Ron DeSantis claims Tim Scott’s support for Donald Trump is ‘a blow’ to Nikki Haley
And it’s not just the former Republican presidential candidate’s rivals.
Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, will be the 26th Republican to support Trump in the Senate. Nearly 120 House Republicans also support Trump, as do 10 state governors.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Wednesday, January 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Trump, who is running for the White House for the third consecutive year and is a strong front-runner in the nomination race, has two remaining Republican rivals in 2024: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Republican. She has a wide lead over Governor Nikki Haley. I’m here to support you.
Matthew Bartlett, a veteran Republican strategist, told Fox News: “It’s strange to see such an outsider supporting everyone in Washington, D.C., and unifying the party so early.”
Haley turns up heat on Trump as she tries to close the gap with Republican front-runner
Bartlett pointed to New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary on Tuesday, with polls showing Trump holding a double-digit lead over Haley, with DeSantis holding a single-digit lead in third place. “We’ll see what happens on Tuesday, but right now this seems to be the general’s decision.” election campaign. “
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis of Florida holds a press conference at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, January 19, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
A year ago, in early 2023, the only recognized candidate for the Republican nomination was a former president.
But he wasn’t sure.
Mr. DeSantis, fresh off an overwhelming re-election bid for governor less than two months ago, was tied with Mr. Trump in some early 2024 polls.
The former president was still facing a lot of criticism from Republicans for contributing to the party’s underperformance in the 2022 midterm elections.
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Additionally, Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign launch at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, weeks after the midterm elections, was criticized by many experts.
But Trump’s four indictments last year, including charges of trying to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat, only increased his support among Republican presidential primary voters.
Republican presidential candidate and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley chats with guests and customers during a campaign stop during a campaign stop in Newfields, Newfields, Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles・Kulpa) (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
On Monday, Trump defeated his competition in the Iowa caucuses, the first race on the Republican nomination calendar.
Haley and DeSantis remain in the race for the Republican nomination, but Matt Mowers told Fox News that “a lot of people are starting to think about the primary.”
But Mowers, a Trump State Department veteran who later won the 2020 Lubrican Party nomination for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, said, “New Hampshire has a tendency to surprise us from time to time, so we’re not sure how everything will turn out.” We will wait and see if it is resolved.”
Get the latest on the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more with Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
