Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina on Sunday did not directly answer multiple questions about whether he'd accept the results of the 2024 presidential election, regardless of who wins.
"At the end of the day, the 47th president of the United States will be President Donald Trump," Scott, a Republican, said the first time he was directly asked whether he would commit to accepting the election results on NBC News' "Meet the Press."
Asked again by moderator Kristen Welker to answer "yes or no?" to the original question, Scott simply said, "That is my statement."
Pressed a third time to answer the question, Scott said, "I look forward to President Trump being the 47th president — the American people will make the decision."
Earlier this month, Trump himself told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he would accept the results of the presidential election in Wisconsin only "if everything’s honest."
“If everything’s honest, I’d gladly accept the results," he said, adding, “If it’s not, you have to fight for the right of the country."
Scott ran for president last year, challenging Trump for the Republican nomination. He dropped out in November and eventually endorsed the former president.
Now, he's widely considered to be on the shortlist for Trump's vice presidential pick.
But following the 2020 presidential election, when Trump questioned the integrity of the election and baselessly alleged that voter fraud took place in states across the country, Scott offered a different tone.
Ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, congressional session to certify the presidential election results, Scott said in a statement, "The President’s legal team exercised its right to access the courts by initiating suits in state and federal courts in numerous states. Some of these lawsuits have even been presided over and adjudicated by conservative judges nominated by President Trump. Thus far, no justice, judge or fact finder has found evidence indicating the election results in those states should be overturned."
He added that “as I read the Constitution, there is no constitutionally viable means for the Congress to overturn an election wherein the states have certified and sent their Electors" and later voted to certify the results of the presidential election.
Even later on the campaign trail, Scott disagreed with voters who claimed the 2020 election was stolen.
"I do not believe the election was stolen. I do believe that states created a new system, mail-in ballots, that did not have signature verification," Scott said during a campaign event in June in Davenport, Iowa.
After an audience member asked questions about "cheating" in the election, Scott added, "There was cheating, but was the election stolen? There’s a difference. I think every election there’s cheating."
