Trump VP hopeful proves he can tap into billionaire GOP donors
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, a top ally and potential running mate of former President Trump, is making the case for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Scott, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2024 nomination but remains a very popular figure in the GOP, on Wednesday convenes a one-day summit that is drawing top figures in the Republican Party, as well as mega-donors who have yet to commit to Trump's White House campaign.
The all afternoon and evening gathering of Great Opportunity Policy, a Scott-aligned non-profit group that supports his political and policy agendas, will also double as a fundraiser for the former president as Trump enters his final phases in his search for a running mate.
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The senator helped organize a major fundraiser for Trump earlier this year ahead of the South Carolina primary, and he attended a top-dollar fundraiser in New York City for the former president last month. Additionally, Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, earlier this month launched a $14 million effort to help the former president win over Black and other non-White working class voters that Scott argues could be the deciding factor in November’s elections.
On Wednesday, he will be making the case for Trump to a number of top donors and billionaires, including Ken Griffin, the founder of the Citadel hedge fund, who spent tens of millions during the 2024 Republican primaries in support of Trump's rivals, and hedge fund executive Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital, who helped finance the campaigns of GOP presidential contender Nikki Haley and Democrat turned independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and also supported GOP candidates former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
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When asked what his message is to top donors who have yet to fully commit to the former president, Scott told Fox News Digital last month that "it is in the best interest of the United States of America to have four more years of President Donald Trump. It is in the best interest of our economy to have four more years of Donald Trump."
"The one thing you can discern as a top donor and Republican and, frankly, a strong business person is that a strong economy makes all things possible,"
The senator, who was known for his ferocious fundraising as he cruised to re-election in 2022, has strong ties with many leading figures in the GOP donor class. The money raised two years ago served as a down payment for his 2024 national run.
Scott, who was one of roughly a dozen Republican candidates who unsuccessfully challenged Trump for the GOP presidential nomination before ending his White House bid late last year, endorsed the former president in January.
The conservative senator from South Carolina over the past five months has become a top Trump surrogate and is considered to be among a small group of contenders on the short list as Trump's running mate on the 2024 Republican ticket.
Political analysts say that Scott, as a Black evangelical, could help the former president make a sizable dent in President Biden's lead with minority voters.
His campaign trail efforts on behalf of Trump appear to have impressed the former president.
"You are a much better candidate for me than you are for yourself," Trump has said to Scott a handful of times.
However, pundits question whether Scott's uneven debate appearances during the Republican presidential primaries could be an issue for him if he faces off against Vice President Kamala Harris this summer in a general election running mate debate.