Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Views Tim Scott Endorsement of Donald Trump as a ‘Major Blow’ to Nikki Haley

In the ongoing race for the Republican Party’s nomination for the presidency, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has expressed his view that the endorsement of former President Donald Trump by Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina is a significant blow to his rival, Nikki Haley. DeSantis made this statement during an interview with Fox News at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, just hours after Fox News confirmed that Scott would endorse Trump at a campaign rally in Concord, New Hampshire.

Both Trump and Haley had reached out to Scott in recent days, attempting to secure his endorsement. Scott’s backing of Trump marks the latest major endorsement for the former president in the state that holds the first southern primary in the Republican nomination race. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and Senator Lindsey Graham have long supported Trump.

The state’s February 24 Republican presidential primary is the next major contest in the Republican schedule following the New Hampshire primary. The contest is winner-take-all, meaning the victor in the Palmetto State will capture all 50 Republican delegates at stake. Trump scored a massive victory in the Iowa caucuses, with DeSantis finishing a distant second place behind Haley. However, polls in New Hampshire indicate Trump hovering around 50% support, double digits ahead of Haley, with DeSantis in the single digits.

Haley has called DeSantis “invisible” in New Hampshire as she frames the primary battle as a two-person race between herself and Trump. DeSantis, in response, argued that “the whole Haley thing, I think, is falling apart now.” He emphasized that Haley has spent an inordinate amount of money in New Hampshire and that her efforts in the Granite State, where moderates and independent voters play an influential role, were over the top.

“I was talking to someone that said they got in one day seven Nikki Haley mailers. It’s like, well, wait a minute. Like the first six aren’t going to get you to vote for that magic seven all of a sudden. So some of this is just overkill,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis plans to campaign in South Carolina on Saturday and Sunday and intends to return to New Hampshire on Sunday night. He dismissed the notion that he was looking for an exit ramp from the 2024 campaign to potentially run again in four years.

“2028. That’s so far away. I mean, in political time, I’m focused on 2024. We’ve got to get our act together as a party. And I think the Iowa results really should have, should be alarm bells for the party because the turnout was so anemic,” DeSantis stated.

The Republican Party is currently divided between die-hard Trump supporters and those who oppose him. Some believe that both DeSantis and Haley should drop out of the race and stand behind Trump to save the party and unite to elect him in November. Others argue that the party consists of die-hard never Trumpers and die-hard Trump supporters, and there will be no uniting.

Regardless of the outcome, the race for the Republican Party’s nomination for the presidency is heating up, with each candidate vying for the support of voters and delegates. The next major contest, the New Hampshire primary, will take place on Tuesday, February 20, 2024. The winner of this primary will gain momentum and valuable delegates, bringing them one step closer to securing the nomination.