Former President Trump on Monday welcomed Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to the 2024 Republican presidential primary, using Scott’s move as a means to target Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“Good luck to Senator Tim Scott in entering the Republican Presidential Primary Race,” Trump wrote on Truth Social moments after Scott’s announcement on Monday. “It is rapidly loading up with lots of people, and Tim is a big step up” from DeSantis, he said.
Trump, who was not critical of Scott, added that he and Scott worked together to come up with the Opportunity Zone program, an idea that was included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. And Scott has remained largely uncritical of Trump over the past several years, though he has said on different occasions that the former president should have apologized for what he described as racist statements.
During his speech on Monday, Scott didn’t mention Trump or any other declared or undeclared 2024 candidates. Instead, he attempted to paint himself as an optimist who could get things done and criticized President Joe Biden and his agenda.
“I’m the candidate the far-left fears the most,” Scott told supporters in his home state of South Carolina on Monday. “When I cut your taxes, they called me a prop. When I re-funded the police, they called me a token. When I pushed back on President Biden, they even called me the n-word. I disrupt their narrative. I threaten their control. The truth of my life disproves their lies.”
He also said of Biden: “This administration has taxed, borrowed, and spent trillions of dollars trying to replace a hand up with handouts. All they bought us was crushing inflation that has devastated families like mine.”
Scott appears to have the support of several top donors, according a number of reports, as well as members of the Republican Senate leadership. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the No. 2 Republican in the upper chamber, appeared at Scott’s event and delivered a statement that “our country is ready to be inspired again.”
