How Tim Scott plans to take on Donald Trump
The task for all Republican candidates not mentioned Donald Trump this year is simple: try to convince the GOP men to choose you over the ex-president.
The problem is that Trump tops jabout each survey watching the GOP primary field these days, and usually by a huge gap. But Tim Scott plans to do his best, and a Republican adviser strategist told Politico more about his path to overtake Trump.
“Their demeanor, their message, their life stories are just so diametrically different,” the adviser said, and Scott is likely to highlight that distinction when he speaks in North Charleston, South Carolina to kick off his campaign.
Scott has also received a boost from his colleagues in the Senate. Politico has confirmed that that the second-ranking GOP lawmaker in the House, John Thunewill support his candidacy.
While today is his official campaign launch, Scott has been touring the country for a few weeks now, particularly early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire. The Guardian’s Joan E Greve spent time among the crowds that greeted him in the Granite State for this look at what his pitch is to Republican voters:
About 45 minutes into his New Hampshire town hall, Tim Scott said he needed to reveal a secret to the Republican voters who had gathered to hear from the presidential hopeful.
“Listen, this might surprise some of you,” Scott told the attendees with a subtle chuckle in his voice. He paused briefly: “I’m black.”
The remark was met with loud laughter from the mostly white crowd and underscored the unique role Scott faces in the Republican presidential primary ahead of the 2024 election. The 57-year-old South Carolina senator and former Donald Trump ally, who filed paperwork on Friday to declare his presidential candidacy ahead of a formal launch event on Monday, hoping to become the first black politician to win his party’s nomination and go on to defeat Joe Biden in the general election next November.
Key events
An important story happening today is the ongoing negotiations on the debt ceiling, which must be raised by June 1 to prevent a potentially devastating default by the US government. Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy are supposed to meet sometime today to make progress on a deal, although the time of the meeting has not yet been announced. Here’s the latest from Reuters on the talks:
US President Joe Biden and Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy have held a “productive” phone call about the continuing impasse over the debt ceiling and promised to meet on Monday after Biden returns to Washington.
McCarthy, who spoke to reporters after the call, said there were positive discussions about resolving the crisis and that staff-level talks would resume later Sunday.
Asked if he was more hopeful after speaking with the president, McCarthy said: “Our teams are talking today and we … will meet tomorrow. It’s better than it was before. So yes.”
Democrats, meanwhile, have some thoughts on Tim Scott.
Here is the chairman of the Democratic National Committee’s statement Jamie Harrison posted this morning, ahead of the 11 a.m. ET kick-off of his presidential campaign:
Tim Scott wants to rule from the “long, conservative right” as a proud member of the Tea Party, and his extreme record proves it. Even before he refused to cite a policy difference with Trump, Scott was a fierce advocate of the MAGA agenda — supporting national abortion bans and defending plans to end Medicare and Social Security as we know them. As an “architect” of Trump’s tax laws, Scott donated billions to corporations and has long been a champion of rolling back regulations on big banks.
There is no doubt that special interests are celebrating as Tim Scott throws his hat into the 2024 race for the MAGA base.
How Tim Scott plans to take on Donald Trump
The task for all Republican candidates not mentioned Donald Trump this year is simple: try to convince the GOP men to choose you over the ex-president.
The problem is that Trump tops jabout each survey watching the GOP primary field these days, and usually by a huge gap. But Tim Scott plans to do his best, and a Republican adviser strategist told Politico more about his path to overtake Trump.
“Their demeanor, their message, their life stories are just so diametrically different,” the adviser said, and Scott is likely to highlight that distinction when he speaks in North Charleston, South Carolina to kick off his campaign.
Scott has also received a boost from his colleagues in the Senate. Politico has confirmed that that the second-ranking GOP lawmaker in the House, John Thunewill support his candidacy.
While today is his official campaign launch, Scott has been touring the country for a few weeks now, particularly early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire. The Guardian’s Joan E Greve spent time among the crowds that greeted him in the Granite State for this look at what his pitch is to Republican voters:
About 45 minutes into his New Hampshire town hall, Tim Scott said he needed to reveal a secret to the Republican voters who had gathered to hear from the presidential hopeful.
“Listen, this might surprise some of you,” Scott told the attendees with a subtle chuckle in his voice. He paused briefly: “I’m black.”
The remark was met with loud laughter from the mostly white crowd and underscored the unique role Scott faces in the Republican presidential primary ahead of the 2024 election. The 57-year-old South Carolina senator and former Donald Trump ally, who filed paperwork on Friday to declare his presidential candidacy ahead of a formal launch event on Monday, hoping to become the first black politician to win his party’s nomination and go on to defeat Joe Biden in the general election next November.
The Republican ranks deepen as Tim Scott enters the 2024 race
Good morning, American Politics Blog readers. Today at 11 a.m. ET, South Carolina’s senator Tim Scott will officially announce his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. He joins an increasingly crowded field of challengers to Joe Biden which already includes former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and Arkansas ex-governor Asa Hutchinsonand will soon see the arrival of Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis. But when it comes to the Republican field, the question today is the same as it has been for months, if not years: Can anyone sit Donald Trump from his post as the most popular man in the GOP? Polls consistently show the former president at the front of the pack, with DeSantis a distant second and Scott in single digits. The senator is the GOP’s only black lawmaker in the House, and with his “Faith in America” slogan, he seems poised to adopt a more upbeat tone compared to Trump’s campaign fueled by fear and grievance. We’ll see if it’s enough to beat the field.
Here’s what else is happening today:
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Joe Biden will sometime today sit down with the Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to try again to agree to raise the debt ceiling, as the default deadline of June 1 approaches alarmingly.
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Speaking of senatorsDelaware Democrat Tom Carper will announce this morning whether he will run for another term, but even if he steps aside, the seat is considered safe territory for Biden’s party.
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Kamala Harris continues her trip to California, where she will meet with tech company leaders to talk about semiconductors and the Biden administration’s efforts to spur more domestic manufacturing of the vital component.
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