In a move that was warmly welcomed by Trump himself, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott \u2013 a rising star who is pitching himself as the candidate \u201cthe far left fears the most\u201d \u2013 officially announced his campaign for the White House at a rally in North Charleston on Monday (US time).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Donald Trump, US president at the time, speaks to Senator Tim Scott during a meeting at the White House in 2017.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>SMH<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cGood luck to Senator Tim Scott in entering the Republican Primary Race,\u201d Trump posted on his Truth Social website, using the opportunity to chide DeSantis.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is rapidly loading up with lots of people, and Tim is a big step up from Ron DeSanctimonious, who is totally unelectable.\u201d<\/p>\n Scott joins an ever-expanding list of Republican primary candidates that so far includes Trump\u2019s former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and conservative radio host Larry Elder.<\/p>\n The race is likely to heat up even more within days, when DeSantis and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie are expected to enter. Former vice president Mike Pence and former New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu are also considering taking on Trump for a shot at the White House.<\/p>\n Nikki Haley greets supporters in South Carolina in February.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n But with Trump currently the frontrunner for the nomination according to most polls, the growing number of rivals is likely to work in his favour if the party is unable to coalesce around one single alternative and his opponents end up splitting the anti-Trump vote.<\/p>\n A similar result played out in 2016 when Trump defeated a fractured, multi-party field of candidates that included senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, former Florida governor Jeb Bush and moderate Republican John Kasich.<\/p>\n After winning the nomination, Trump went on to defeat Hillary Clinton in a general election also marked by Russian interference. He won despite the former US secretary of state winning the popular vote, thanks to the quirks of America\u2019s electoral college system.<\/p>\n Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has warned about a Trump victory in 2024.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Farrah Tomazin<\/cite><\/p>\n Speaking at a forum over the weekend, Clinton warned that while she didn\u2019t believe Trump could beat Joe Biden in a general election, \u201cthe electoral college is always a difficult outcome to predict\u201d.<\/p>\n Asked what might happen if Trump became president again, she replied: \u201cIt would be the end of democracy in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe list of potential disastrous outcomes is longer than I have time to go over,\u201d Clinton told the audience at the Financial Times<\/em> Weekend Festival in Washington DC.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s why we can\u2019t permit it to happen and why any sensible person who looks at that former president and says: \u201cOh, let\u2019s do this again\u201d needs an intervention \u2013 because he\u2019s only gotten worse.\u201d<\/p>\n Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton during a 2016 presidential debate.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n Tim Scott\u2019s announcement once again puts the focus on South Carolina, the heavily black state that helped secure Joe Biden\u2019s presidential nomination in 2020.<\/p>\n The 57-year-old is widely respected within the Republican Party, although his positive backstory about coming from a poor family that went from \u201cCotton to Congress\u201d often contrasts with Trump\u2019s narrative of \u201cretribution\u201d and a \u201cdestroyed\u201d America.<\/p>\n \u201cOur party and our nation are standing at a time for choosing: Victimhood or victory?\u201d he told a packed audience at Charleston Southern University on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cGrievance or greatness? I choose freedom and hope and opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Scott was elected to Congress in 2010 but was nominated to run for the Senate two years later by Nikki Haley, another South Carolina local vying for the Republican nomination.<\/p>\n As the first black Republican from South Carolina to serve in the Senate, Scott has used his platform to argue against the view that America has been a land of oppression for black and brown people.<\/p>\n He also championed so-called Opportunity Zones, which incentivise private investment in the poorest communities, and was instrumental in a bill that made lynching a federal hate crime in the wake of George Floyd\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m the candidate the far left fears the most,\u201d Scott said today. \u201cI disrupt their narrative. I threaten their control.\u201d<\/p>\n The senator has also amassed a massive $US22 million war chest for his campaign. However, whether it will help in the expected race against Trump and his main rival DeSantis is yet to be seen.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n