South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, one of former President Trump’s closest ally and potential vice presidential nominees, is lobbying for support to secure the Republican presidential nomination.
Scott, who lost out on the 2024 presidential nomination but remains a hugely popular figure within the Republican Party, will host a one-day summit on Wednesday with GOP dignitaries and major donors who have yet to commit to Trump’s campaign.
The rally, being held this afternoon and evening by Great Opportunity Policies, a nonprofit group affiliated with Scott that supports Scott’s political and policy agenda, will also serve as a fundraiser for the former president as Trump enters the final stages of his search for a running mate.
These Republicans are believed to be on Trump’s shortlist.
Sen. Tim Scott (right) speaks before former President Trump at a campaign rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, on February 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
The senator helped organize a major fundraiser for Trump ahead of the South Carolina primary earlier this year and attended a high-profile Trump fundraiser in New York City last month. And earlier this month, Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, launched a $14 million outreach effort to rally support among Black and other non-white working-class voters he argues could decide the November election.
On Wednesday, he is scheduled to make his case for Trump before several major donors and billionaires, including Ken Griffin, founder of the Citadel hedge fund, which has spent tens of millions of dollars in the 2024 Republican primaries to back Trump’s rivals, and Bill Ackman, the hedge fund executive at Pershing Square Capital who has bankrolled the campaigns of Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley and Democrat-turned-independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and has also backed Republican candidates former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Vice Presidential race: Trump meets with potential running mate
“It’s in the best interest of the United States of America that Donald Trump serves as President for four more years. It’s in the best interest of our economy that Donald Trump serves as President for four more years,” Scott told Fox News Digital last month when asked what his message was to big donors who have not yet fully committed to the former president.
“What I understand as a major donor, a Republican and, frankly, a skilled businessman is that with a strong economy, all things are possible.”
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, then a Republican presidential candidate, speaks with members of the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women during an event at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College on May 25, 2023 in Manchester, New Hampshire. (Fox News)
The senator, known for his ferocious fundraising for his 2022 reelection bid, has strong ties to many key players in the Republican donor base, and the money he raised two years ago served as a down payment for his 2024 national election bid.
Scott was one of about a dozen Republican candidates who unsuccessfully challenged Trump for the GOP presidential nomination before giving up on his bid for the White House late last year, but he endorsed the former president in January.
The conservative senator from South Carolina has become a leading surrogate for President Trump over the past five months and is considered one of a small number of candidates on Trump’s short list of running mates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
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Political analysts say that as a black evangelical, Scott could help the former president sharply reduce Biden’s lead among minority voters.
Former Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, right, looks on as Sen. Tim Scott, R.C., during a Fox News Channel town hall meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in Greenville, South Carolina. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
His efforts campaigning for Trump appear to have impressed the former president.
“You’re a much better candidate for me than you are for yourself,” Trump told Scott multiple times.
But critics have questioned whether Scott’s uneven performance in the Republican presidential primary debates will be a problem when he faces Vice President Kamala Harris in the general election vice presidential debate this summer.
Get the latest 2024 campaign updates, exclusive interviews and more on Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
