Big Blow to Haley as Fellow South Carolinian Sen. Tim Scott Endorses Trump Ahead of NH GOP Primary

Days before the New Hampshire primary, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina dealt a huge blow to Nikki Haley by joining former President Donald Trump on stage and supporting him at a Concord event. "IS THIS TRUMP COUNTRY?" Scott yelled at a hyped-up crowd of Trump supporters, reported ABC News. 

The blow is especially hard as Haley appointed Scott to his Senate seat back in 2012, marking another sign of Trump's growing support, as reported by CNN. “We need a president who will close our southern border today. We need Donald Trump,” Scott roared. “We need a president who will unite our country. We need Donald Trump,” he continued. “We need a president who will protect your social security and my mama’s social security. We need Donald Trump.”

"That's why I came to the very warm state of New Hampshire to endorse the next president of the United States, Donald Trump," Scott said. "We need a president who will unite our country. We need Donald Trump," the former GOP candidate said amid cheers from the crowd.

As Trump expressed gratitude to Scott and called him a 'very good' and 'very respected' man, the business mogul also attacked other Republicans for 'wasting hundreds of millions of dollars' on their attacks against him. He targeted Haley in particular, saying that she was in an 'unholy alliance' with 'RINOs and "never-Trumpers.'

The endorsement was made just a few days before the January 23 primary in New Hampshire. As he brought Scott to the platform, Trump mentioned that the senator had endorsed him two days prior. The Trump campaign's choice to hold off on making it public demonstrates how important they see his backing and how eager they are to use the last few days leading up to the New Hampshire primary to highlight his endorsement.

As CNN previously reported, many individuals with knowledge of the conversations said that Trump had been in private discussions with Scott about getting his endorsement. Scott stated in December on CNBC's Squawk Box that his endorsement "certainly won't happen this year, if I do it at all." Scott has vowed not to compete for Senate reelection. Rumors that Scott was hoping to be Trump's vice president dogged him throughout his campaign. Numerous people told ABC News that Scott seemed more like a 'No. 2' to them. Scott shot back at the reports, claiming that his goal in running for president was not to finish second.

During a visit to a New Hampshire café on January 19, Haley was asked about Scott's plans and said, “We’ll wait and see if it happens.” Then, sidelining other questions, she left. She later said in a statement that it was “Interesting that Trump’s lining up with all the Washington insiders when he claimed he wanted to drain the swamp. But the fellas are gonna do what the fellas are gonna do.”