Trump congratulates Senator Tim Scott on his engagement to interior designer girlfriend and gets a laugh when he says he ‘never thought this was going to happen’
Donald Trump congratulated Senator Tim Scott on his engagement Monday night at a rally in New Hampshire, where many of the former president’s former rivals joined him on stage.
The former president reacted with surprise when he brought 58-year-old Scott onto the stage.
‘Everyone knows him and today was a big story – the biggest story there is. He’s engaged,” Trump declared as Scott came to the stage.
“We never thought this would happen, what’s going on?” Trump asked in surprise.
Donald Trump congratulated Senator Tim Scott on his engagement Monday evening at a rally in New Hampshire, where many of the former president’s former rivals were on stage
Scott, 58, proposed to 47-year-old Mindy Noce on Saturday in South Carolina
The Republican from South Carolina has been single until now.
On Saturday, he put the question to mother of three, interior designer Mindy Noce, whose identity had remained secret until after the third GOP debate in November. Scott quit the race shortly afterwards.
Scott asked Noce, 47, to marry him on the beach of Kiawah Island in South Carolina.
Once on stage, Scott praised Trump for low crime and inflation during his presidency.
“How many of you want me to stop talking so you can listen to your next president, Donald J. Trump? Four more years!’ Scott sang as the crowd cheered.
Scott appears firmly in the running for vice president after dropping out of the presidential race last year and endorsing Donald Trump in New Hampshire on Friday.
Lifelong single Scott has always been private about his dating life, but after meeting Noce at church a year ago and bonding over Bible study, he said he knew he had met his “soulmate.”
“I’ve been very patient and prayerful, and I’m very excited and somewhat nervous,” Scott told the Washington Post. The couple plans to get married this year.
Scott said he asked Noce’s parents for permission to marry her two weeks before Christmas and then spent a month planning his proposal.
He originally said he was going to ask her after a game of pickleball, but his friend suggested he choose something more romantic.
He settled on Kiawah Island, but said the cold weather meant it was difficult to convince Noce not to wear gloves.
Scott said, “My joke is that as soon as I saw her picture I figured it out. But the truth is, after about two weeks, I knew there was something very different about her and her faith.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., speaks as Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, listens with North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Vivek Ramaswamy listen during a campaign event in Laconia, New Hampshire on Monday evening
Scott appears firmly in the running for vice president after dropping out of the presidential race last year and endorsing Donald Trump in New Hampshire on Friday. Pictured on Monday
He said he asked for her parents’ permission two weeks before Christmas and spent a month preparing the proposal
‘In our first conversation, which lasted about one and a half to two hours, we finally decided to do a Bible study together.’
Initially, Scott was secretive about their relationship, leading some to wonder if his girlfriend really existed.
He said he was in a relationship during his presidential campaign in May and described her as “a sweet Christian girl” in September, but still did not name her.
His reluctance prompted the Washington Post to publish an investigation into his “mysterious” love life.
The Post learned that the couple played pickleball and that Scott was embarrassed to discover he was the “weak man on the court.”
Scott’s campaign manager also confirmed to the Post that the woman was real and that they had even been to the zoo together.
Scott brought Noce to the stage after a November debate in Miami, Florida
But no one saw Noce, or knew her name, until Scott brought her on stage after a debate in Miami in November.
The South Carolina senator has been defensive in the past when his relationship status was compared to that of the last serving president, James Buchanan in 1861.
“The fact that half of the American adult population is single for the first time suggests that whether or not you are married will somehow be the determining factor in whether you are a good president,” Scott said at the time.
“It sounds like we’re living in 1963… not 2023.”
Early in his career, Scott claimed to have been a 30-year-old virgin and campaigned to pledge abstinence.
In 2012, after 16 years in public life and winning a seat in the US House at the age of 46 and still unmarried, Scott admitted that he is no longer a virgin.
Scott dropped his own presidential bid and has since endorsed Trump, putting him in the running for vice president
He seemed to enjoy being in front of a crowd again as he aligned himself with Donald Trump
Noce is an interior designer and mother of three living in South Carolina
Noce is a Charleston-based design and renovation consultant. She has lived in South Carolina since graduating from the College of Charleston, where she studied health sciences.
She works as an interior designer for Atlantic Properties of the Lowcountry real estate company.
Noce was introduced to the area when her three older brothers played soccer at The Citadel, according to the company’s website.
She has lived on Isle of Palms and Daniel Island for almost eighteen years and is, as she describes herself, ‘a mover and shaker with a creative eye and a love for people.’
Her Instagram account is full of photos of her interior design work and group photos with her colleagues.