Concord, NH – Sen. Tim Scott, Donald Trump’s onetime rival in the 2024 Republican race, endorsed the former president for the GOP nomination on Friday.

Scott (R-SC), who dropped out of the race Nov. 12 and vowed at the time he would not endorse another candidate, threw his support behind Trump at a rally in Concord, NH, the capital of the Granite State, where he briefly joined the GOP presidential primary front-runner onstage to personally give him his stamp of approval.

“We need a president who will close our southern border today! We need Donald Trump. We need a president who will unite our country. We need Donald Trump. We need a president who will protect your social security and my momma’s social security. We need Donald Trump. We need a president who will stop the crime and recklessness in the streets,” Scott said, leading a chant with the sizable crowd.

The country needs a president who doesn’t see “black or white” but sees all citizens as “one American family,” he added.

The decision by Scott to endorse Trump, 77, ahead of the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary, first reported by the New York Times, is a blow to Scott’s fellow South Carolinian, former Palmetto State Gov. Nikki Haley.

Haley, 51, appointed Scott in December 2012 to the Senate seat he has since won twice on his own.

The two South Carolinians traded testy exchanges in each of the three debates in which they took part, with Scott notably trying to take Haley to task over the curtains in her residence while she was Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations.

Haley is Trump’s nearest challenger in New Hampshire, and the consensus among political observers is that she must win the Granite State to deny the 45th president a cakewalk to the Republican nomination in Milwaukee later this year.

In backing Trump, Scott also joins his Senate colleague Lindsey Graham and current South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster in turning their backs on Haley in favor of the former president.

Scott, 58, entered the race in May of last year, articulating an optimistic message about his life story in opposition to liberal claims of American oppression of blacks and other minorities.

However, despite impressive fundraising numbers, Scott failed to break through among Republican voters.

A benchmark Iowa poll released in late October, two weeks before he dropped out, showed him getting just 7% support in the Hawkeye State. 

Scott announced he was suspending his campaign during an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Night in America,” hosted by his fellow South Carolinian, former Rep. Trey Gowdy.

“I think the voters, who are the most remarkable people on the planet, have been really clear,” he said at the time. “They’re telling me, ‘Not now, Tim.’”

In the same interview, Scott said he would withhold his endorsement for the time being, telling Gowdy “the best way for me to be helpful is to not weigh in.”

The senator also appeared to rule out being any candidate’s running mate, saying: “Being vice president has never been on my to-do list for this campaign, and it’s certainly not there now.”

Scott is at least the fifth 2024 Republican presidential candidate to endorse Trump, along with former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, conservative radio host Larry Elder, businessman Perry Johnson, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Since Scott exited the race, the Trump campaign had mounted a concerted effort to win his support.

Friday’s endorsement comes four days after Trump, 77, dominated the Iowa Republican caucus, beating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by nearly 30 percentage points, with Haley coming in third.

Additional reporting by Samuel Chamberlain