May 23, 2023: Sen. On Monday, Tim Scott of South Carolina officially announced his run for president in 2024, which sticks his sizeable campaign fights chest and optimistic message to the problem in a Republican primary race that has so far been retired President Donald Trump’s to lose.
Scott, the Senate’s only Black Republican, in an announcement speech in North Charleston, is balancing his faith and his family’s story with attacks on Democratic President Joe Biden’s record.
“I am living examples that America is the land of opportunity, not a land of oppression,” Scott stated in prepared remarks.
“Joe Biden and the radical left which attacks every rung of the ladder that supported me climb,” he stated, “and that is why I am reporting today that runs for President of the U.S. of America!”
Scott, 57, faces an uphill battle; polls of the prospective primary field show him trailing different other presidential contenders, including fellow South Carolina Republican Nikki Haley, entering the race in February. Since launching his campaign last year, Trump has easily led the pack, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis consistently retired as the top alternative.
But Scott enters the race with recent key weapons in his political arsenal.
Scott is well-liked among his peers and poised to jump into the race on a springboard of high-profile endorsements. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., delivered the first non-Trump endorsement of the 2024 cycle last week when he backed Scott’s impending run. Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican and the other senator from South Dakota, also endorsing Scott, NBC News and different outlets reported Sunday.
“Tim Scott is the real agreement, and he will make a prominent president of the U.S.,” Thune told the crowd in North Charleston before Scott took the stage.
“I don’t remember about you, but I think our country is almost ready to be inspired again.”
Scott also has a financial advantage over many of his competitors; His campaign-in-waiting had nearly $22 million in cash in March. The senator already uses that money with a $6 million ad purchase for TV and radio spots in Iowa and recent Hampshire. Those ads are set to air Wednesday, coinciding with Scott’s travel to those two states for his first major trip as a presidential candidate.
Scott’s political presence and messaging, which champions themes of unity and optimism, also starkly contrasts the strident and polarizing rhetorical approach practised by much of the Republican field. The first GOP primary debate is slated for August.
“Our party and nation are standing at a time for choosing,” Scott told the crowd. “Victimhood or victory? Grievance or greatness? I choose freedom and hope and opportunity.”
As he closed his speech, Scott departed from his prior remarks and walked into the crowd. “This can’t be one more presidential campaign. We don’t have space for that. We need a president pursuing not just our friends and our base.”
“We have to have compassion for people who don’t agree with us,” he added.
The long-expected campaign kickoff came some days after Scott filed paperwork regarding Federal Election Commission, which designates a principal committee for a presidential auction. He launched an exploratory committee for a White House bid the previous month and has made frequent roundabouts to key primary states.
DeSantis is expected to show his candidacy later this week. Trump has treated Florida retired as his top primary rival and virtually ignores the rest of the GOP field as he pummels his retired ally with attacks.
That tactic which paying off in the short term, as recent polls show DeSantis skating while Trump widens, which leads. But the primary remains in its stages, with more competitors, which include former Vice President Mike Pence, anticipated to join in the coming weeks.
This fight is just beginning to unfold. Trump again faces several significant legal issues. The former president pleaded not guilty the previous month to charges that he stated false business records about hush money payments made before the 2016 election. He also faces significant additional exposure from an election interference probe by the Fulton County district attorney and federal special counsel investigations, among other threats.
To hint at how Trump perceived Scott’s potential threat to his candidacy, the former president took the senator’s presidential announcement as another opportunity to attack DeSantis.
“Tim is a significant step up from Ron DeSanctimonious, who is unelectable,” Trump wrote in a social media post earlier Monday.
“Good luck Tim!” Trump added.
