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Sen. Tim Scott said Wednesday that he has no plans to endorse in the 2024 primary race “anytime soon” during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“I said when I withdrew from the presidential race that I would not be endorsing anytime soon,” Scott said. “It certainly won’t happen this year, If I do it at all.”
The South Carolina senator also downplayed recent criticism of former President Donald Trump made by former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney and defended Trump’s policy record.
“We’re all flawed number one, so there’s no doubt that we’re going to have a flawed individual leading our country because that’s just called humanity. The question we really should ask ourselves is, what do we want from a policy position and who will provide the best future for the average person in our country,” Scott said. “2017 to 2020 we had the strongest economic activity we’ve seen in a lifetime.”
Scott also highlighted Trump’s sustained polling lead in the GOP primary, expressing doubt that any of his former 2024 opponents could “catch him right now.”
“You look at what the former president has done from the beginning of the campaign to where we are now. He has led not only double digits, but sometimes 50-plus points,” he said. “So I got out of the race because I came to the conclusion that the American people, particularly Republican primary voters, are angry and they’re looking for a candidate who will be just as angry as they are.”
When Scott suspended his presidential campaign last month, he told Fox News’ Trey Gowdy that he didn’t think his endorsement would be helpful to Republican voters.
“I’m going to recommend that the voters study each candidate and their candidacies and frankly, their past and make a decision for the future of the country. The best way for me to be helpful is to not weigh in on who they should endorse,” Scott said.
He also made clear during the November interview that he was not actively seeking a spot on one of the remaining Republican tickets as a potential running mate.
“Being vice president has never been on my to do list for this campaign, and it’s certainly not there now,” Scott said.
