When Sen. Tim Scott unexpectedly gave up on his presidential bid two months ago, the South Carolina Republican said he didn’t intend to support any of his former rivals. That didn’t last.
Donald Trump and Nikki Haley both personally called the GOP senator last week, seeking his support, and at least on the surface, the former ambassador had a compelling pitch: They’re both conservative Republicans from the same state, and she’s the one who first appointed Scott to the Senate, elevating his career in the first place.
Scott endorsed Trump anyway, appearing alongside the former president in New Hampshire on Friday night, and praising Trump’s ability to “unite our country.” He didn’t appear to be kidding.
Last year, as he prepared to launch his own 2024 campaign, Politico quoted a confidant close to the senator who insisted that Scott has been “repulsed by the downward spiral of bullying and bomb-throwing that has become the hallmark of politics of late.”
Evidently, he changed his mind.
But if Scott’s announcement seemed like an insult to Haley, Rep. Nancy Mace’s decision was even more dramatic. NBC News reported:
Rep. Nancy Mace is endorsing Trump, marking yet another South Carolina Republican who is backing the former president over Haley, the state’s former governor. A source familiar said Mace texted Haley before the news of the endorsement broke.
On the surface, this might not seem especially surprising. Just about every prominent Republican officeholder in South Carolina has already endorsed Trump, so it’s not exactly surprising to see the congresswoman join the partisan parade.
But there’s a bit more to this story.
Circling back to our coverage from a couple of years ago, in the wake of Jan. 6, Mace scrambled to distance herself from Trump, saying his legacy had been “wiped out“ by his role in the insurrectionist riot.
The former president noticed. In fact, in February 2022, Trump endorsed Mace’s GOP primary rival, calling the congresswoman “absolutely terrible,” and adding that Mace’s “remarks and attitude have been devastating for her community, and not at all representative of the Republican Party to which she has been very disloyal.”
A month later, the former president declared at a rally that he considered Mace to be “untruthful” and a “grandstanding loser.” When Trump tried to end Mace’s career, Haley tried to rescue it: Ahead of the congresswoman’s primary race, Haley — South Carolina’s former governor — not only endorsed the incumbent, she also campaigned publicly on Mace’s behalf. Nikki Haley in Hilton Head, SC, for Nancy Mace ahead of tomorrow’s primary—> pic.twitter.com/cerD9kRJqx This wasn’t some election cycle from the distant past. We’re talking about the summer of 2022. And yet, here we are, watching Mace blow off the presidential hopeful who helped rescue her career 18 months ago, and throw her support behind the candidate who publicly condemned her as “absolutely terrible.” As for why someone would be so careless with their self-respect, The Wall Street Journal reported last August that the congresswoman has been “warming to the idea” of trying to be Trump’s running mate.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
Latest Post
Recommended
