Donald Trump Responds to Tim Scott’s Presidential Campaign Announcement

Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) on Monday officially launched his 2024 presidential campaign.

Scott made the announcement at an event in North Charleston, South Carolina.

It’s time.

I’m at home in North Charleston and I’m about to go LIVE.

Join me @ 11:15 AM ET. pic.twitter.com/KoA027LzHJ

— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) May 22, 2023

North Charleston, y’all sound READY. pic.twitter.com/er7yFajjmX

— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) May 22, 2023

Here’s footage from the announcement:

Let's go! https://t.co/w12l1nKrrg

— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) May 22, 2023

NBC News reported:

Speaking before a crowd his campaign estimated to be nearly 2,000 attendees, Scott described the campaign as a time to choose between “victimhood or victory” and “grievance or greatness.” He portrayed himself as the candidate “the far-left fears most.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“I disrupt their narrative,” he said. “I threaten their control. The truth of my life disrupts their lies!”

Scott’s bid has been months in the works as he teased his announcement in recent weeks, first announcing an exploratory committee in April and then officially filing the paperwork Friday to run. He joins a rapidly expanding field of contenders looking to knock off former President Donald Trump, the current Republican frontrunner who holds a commanding lead in GOP primary polls.

Scott was first appointed to the Senate from South Carolina in 2012, by then-Gov. Nikki Haley — now a presidential rival — to replace retiring Sen. Jim DeMint. Scott later won the election to fill the rest of his term in 2014 and went on to win full terms in 2016 and again last year. Scott’s political career began in the Charleston County Council in the mid-1990s before serving in the state House and the U.S. House.

Scott enters a growing GOP presidential primary field that includes frontrunner Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Asa Hutchinson, and Larry Elder.

CBS News added:

He kicked off his campaign in his hometown of North Charleston, joined by South Dakota’s longtime senator, Minority Whip John Thune, who is number two in the Republican Senate leadership. Thune has long been opposed to former President Donald Trump, saying in December 2020 that any attempt to overturn the election results in the Senate would go down like a “shot dog.”

Thune said his Senate colleague was “the real deal” among the 2024 field. “He came in with boundless hope,” Thune said before leading the crowd in prayer. “I think our country needs to be inspired again,” he said.

Senior Scott campaign advisers tell CBS News that Scott will hope to carve out a space in a presidential cycle that could be one of the most vicious in years.

Donald Trump on Monday reacted to Tim Scott entering the 2024 presidential race.

“Good luck to Senator Tim Scott in entering the Republican Presidential Primary Race. It is rapidly loading up with lots of people, and Tim is a big step up from Ron DeSanctimonious, who is totally unelectable. I got Opportunity Zones done with Tim, a big deal that has been highly successful. Good luck Tim!” Trump said.