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Sen. Tim Scott plans to endorse Trump ahead of New Hampshire primary

Then-Republican presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina arrives at an event in Las Vegas in October 2023. Scott is planning to endorse former President Donald Trump's reelection bid.
Ethan Miller
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Then-Republican presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina arrives at an event in Las Vegas in October 2023. Scott is planning to endorse former President Donald Trump's reelection bid.

Updated January 19, 2024 at 6:16 PM ET

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott plans to endorse former President Donald Trump in his bid for reelection, according to a source familiar with Scott's plans, who spoke to NPR on the condition of anonymity because they aren't cleared to discuss the plan.

Scott is set to make the announcement Friday evening at Trump's rally in Concord, N.H.

The South Carolina Senator teased the announcement in a video posted on the social media website X, formally known as Twitter.

"Just tune in, pay attention, listen closely, and let's talk about four more years," he said, standing in front of Trump's campaign plane.

The move comes just four days ahead of the New Hampshire primary, where Trump will face off against former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after dominating at the Iowa caucuses on Monday.

Scott had been courted not only by Trump, but also Haley and DeSantis in recent weeks, according to the source.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who has endorsed Haley, dismissed the news. "If anyone cared about Tim Scott, he'd still be running for president. I mean, nobody cares," Sununu told reporters.

Scott, who is 58 and the only Black Republican in the Senate, ran a short-lived campaign for the Republican presidential nomination last year. Though initial prospects of his candidacy attracted some buzz, he ultimately suspended his campaign in November.

Average polling out of the granite state has Haley inching closer to Trump. Despite that, Trump still maintains a more than 10-point lead.

Scott isn't the only former presidential candidate who's now supporting the former president. Tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy threw his support behind Trump after a lackluster performance in Iowa.

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Elena Moore is a production assistant for the NPR Politics Podcast. She also fills in as a reporter for the NewsDesk. Moore previously worked as a production assistant for Morning Edition. During the 2020 presidential campaign, she worked for the Washington Desk as an editorial assistant, doing both research and reporting. Before coming to NPR, Moore worked at NBC News. She is a graduate of The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and is originally and proudly from Brooklyn, N.Y.
Franco Ordoñez is a White House Correspondent for NPR's Washington Desk. Before he came to NPR in 2019, Ordoñez covered the White House for McClatchy. He has also written about diplomatic affairs, foreign policy and immigration, and has been a correspondent in Cuba, Colombia, Mexico and Haiti.