After former President Donald Trump’s win in the South Carolina primary on Tuesday, he got endorsed by the second-ranking Republican in the Senate.
Senator Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) told Fox News Digital that Trump’s performance in the state’s primary makes him the Republican voters’ choice for president.
2nd-Ranking GOP Senator Thune Endorses Trump https://t.co/fa3yYQDgql pic.twitter.com/yJ8JIh1ojy
— Daily Wire News (@DailyWireNews) February 25, 2024
“The primary results in South Carolina make clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee for president in this year’s pivotal presidential election. The choice before the American people is crystal clear: It’s Donald Trump or Joe Biden,” he stated.
“I support former President Trump’s campaign to win the presidency, and I intend to do everything I can to see that he has a Republican majority in the Senate working with him to restore American strength at home and abroad,” he said further.
Alluding to how bad the combination of a Biden administration and the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is, he said further, “Together we must put an end to the disastrous Biden-Schumer agenda. Our country cannot endure another four years of Bidenomics, continued lawlessness at our southern border, and American weakness on the global stage.”
Trump already has the endorsement of more than half of the Republicans in the Senate while his last standing GOP rival does not have any. Thune’s endorsement comes after Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the third ranking GOP lawmaker in the Senate, publicly backed the GOP front runner.
Thune’s endorsement had previously been given to Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who suspended his 2024 campaign and endorsed Trump.
His endorsement of Trump is a total turnaround from his previous stance on the former president’s run, as he spoke against him becoming the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential candidate.
“If Republicans really want to defeat Democrats, the press and a hostile bureaucracy, they’ll nominate a candidate who won’t shrink from a fight but will also be smart enough not to blunder into obvious traps,” he said.
He also criticized Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol protest. Even after he voted against convicting Trump in the Senate’s impeachment trial, he made it clear in February, 2021 that he does not support his actions.
“My vote to acquit should not be viewed as exoneration for his conduct on January 6 … or in the days and weeks leading up to it. What former President Trump did to undermine faith in our election system and disrupt the peaceful transfer of power is inexcusable,” he stated.