Sen. Tim Scott became the second former campaign rival to join Donald Trump on stage in New Hampshire this week, sparking a new wave of speculation that the former president is auditioning his potential vice presidents.
The South Carolina senator received a hero’s welcome in front of hundreds of Trump supporters in Concord as he showed his support.
“We need a president who sees Americans as one American family. We have…” Scott said, getting the crowd to roar, “Donald Trump.
“And that’s why I came to the very warm state of New Hampshire to support US President Donald Trump’s next president.”
Senator Tim Scott appeared on stage with Donald Trump in Concord, New Hampshire, on Friday evening to endorse the former president’s race for the Republican nomination
Trump spoke warmly about Scott even before dropping out of the 2024 race, prompting frequent speculation that the South Carolina senator could be his choice for vice president
His appearance was teased with a cheeky video filmed outside the former president’s private jet earlier in the day. The result was a heady sense of anticipation at Concord’s Grappone Convention Center.
It’s a familiar move for a real estate mogul who took his fame to stratospheric heights with “The Apprentice.” He has often used the campaign stage as his own reality show, auditioning potential vice presidents or high-ranking officials and testing the audience’s reaction.
Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley also tried to get Scott’s support, but Trump’s arrest of the senator comes as his top advisers hope they can kill his two rivals and now focus his fire solely on President Joe Biden.
New Hampshire will hold the nation’s first primary elections on Tuesday. Haley in particular could struggle to continue her campaign if she finishes a distant second to the former president.
“This could end it. A big vote could end it,” Trump said as he encouraged his fans to come out on Tuesday. “Then we could focus on Biden and his thugs.”
On Tuesday, Trump took the stage with biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, a day after withdrawing from the race. That led to headlines that the 38-year-old could be a potential vice president.
And on Friday, Trump was introduced by New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, another rising star who is being talked about as a future running mate.
Then came Scott, who worked closely with Trump when he was in the White House. The crowd loved the big reveal, which the former president teased earlier in the speech.
“I don’t know…” Trump said wistfully at one point. “I’d like to get him over here tonight, but I don’t know if I can.”
Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik is a rising star in the party and Friday evening she introduced Trump at his rally at the Concord, New Hampshire, convention center
Trump called on his supporters to deliver a big result during Tuesday’s primaries. “This could end it. A big vote could end it,” he said. ‘Then we can focus on Biden and his thugs’
Scott’s arrival brought the house down. Trump had previously raised the idea wistfully. “I’d love to get him out here tonight, but I don’t know if I can get him,” he said of Scott
People lined up from noon for a speech that didn’t start until after 8:30 p.m., braving New Hampshire’s bitterly cold temperatures for a chance to see Trump up close
Stefanik spoke to reporters before the meeting and shrugged off the vice president’s speculation
Sharon Rusanski, 46, six hours in temperatures that dropped to 18 degrees Celsius by the time the doors opened. She said the sense of theater made Trump so special.
“I think that’s what makes him entertaining,” she said. ‘But I also think that politics doesn’t always have to be so serious. It can be fun.’
She added that Scott would make a great vice president.
“I don’t know if Vivek is ready,” she said. ‘Press secretary perhaps?
“Elise would be great too because she’s a woman and it’s always great to get that different perspective.”
The audience was enthusiastic about Stefanik’s introduction. Her public profile increased late last year when she questioned the presidents of two elite universities about their policies against promoting genocide.
“Two down, one to go,” she cheered as she referred to how two of the silent presidents had resigned after their humiliation under her questioning.
But Scott was the big prize for Trump, and another statement of intent as he tries to wrap up the nomination in swift style.
Previously, a source explained Scott’s thinking.
Hundreds of people packed into Concord’s Grappone Convention Center on Friday evening
“The deciding factor was that he has been talking to Trump for a while and they have a very good relationship,” said a source familiar with their discussions.
“We need to focus on beating Joe Biden.”
It’s a bitter blow for Haley, whose political base includes South Carolina and who appointed Scott to the Senate as governor in 2012.
She needs a huge boost if she wants to pull off a surprise during the first primaries in New Hampshire on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for her campaign downplayed the twist.
“Interesting that Trump joined all the Washington insiders in saying he wanted to drain the swamp,” Olivia Perez-Cubas told the Associated Press.
“But the boys are going to do what the boys are going to do.”
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., speaks for President Donald Trump at a campaign rally during the 2020 campaign
Both Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis asked Scott for his support. They are struggling to slow down the Trump juggernaut and Haley especially needs a strong result on Monday
It’s understood she and DeSantis, who is largely skipping the northeastern state’s early primaries, have both spoken to Scott to try to win his endorsement.
The senator has a powerful fundraising machine and could help the former ascendant make further inroads among Biden’s black support.
Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, delivered a message of optimism and unity. That made him stand out in a field that painted a dark picture of America under Biden.
His personal story of growing up in poverty gave him the kind of broad appeal that made him a contender.
But he never really gained traction in the polls, despite a huge financial war chest, and struggled to impose himself in the first three Republican debates.
On Tuesday, Trump was joined on stage by tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who dropped out less than 24 hours earlier after a disappointing fourth-place finish in Iowa.
“It’s an honor to have his support,” Trump said. “He’s going to work with us and he’s going to be working with us for a long time.”
Those comments heightened speculation that the 38-year-old could join the Trump ticket.