Though Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is seen as a shortlister to be former President Donald Trump’s running mate this year, the two men reportedly didn’t discuss the matter when they last spoke.
This weekend, President Trump hosted a fundraising event in Palm Beach, Florida, during which wealthy donors heard from several contenders to become President Trump’s running mate. Mr. Scott’s name has often been speculated as being near the top of that list.
But Mr. Scott and President Trump didn’t discuss the matter this weekend, the South Carolina Republican said.
Mr. Scott was asked whether President Trump had raised the possibility during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“No ma'am,” Mr. Scott replied, adding later, “He did not bring it up, I certainly did not bring it up.”
“We had no conversations about the VP pick, to be honest with you, to be clear, but we had a lot of conversations about the failures of Joe Biden and the success of Donald Trump,” Mr. Scott said, specifically citing conversations about ending “Bidenomics” and reducing the inflation rate back to 2 percent, where it stood when President Trump was in office.
Nevertheless, Mr. Scott said he “fully expects” that President Trump will announce his pick for the No. 2 job sometime within the next 60 days.
Mr. Scott was joined at the Palm Beach retreat, seen by some as an audition for VP, by several other Republicans seen as frontrunners.
Those included Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.).
Details about what was said at the closed-door fundraiser are unclear.
Later during the interview, Mr. Scott was also evasive about whether or not he'd accept the results of the 2024 election should President Trump lose.
It comes as the Republican Party remains divided about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, which some have said was marked by widespread election fraud in key battleground states.
Asked whether he would consider the results of the 2024 election legitimate should President Joe Biden win reelection, Mr. Scott said only, “The 47th president of the United States will be Donald Trump.”
He declined to answer further probing on the issue.
Mr. Scott’s appearance at the Palm Beach retreat comes after Ms. Noem, long considered a clear frontrunner in President Trump’s VP hunt, has lost some standing among Republicans after she admitted in a memoir to killing her family dog—a startling admission that drew criticism and mockery from members of both parties.
Many observers say that Ms. Noem ruined her shot at the vice presidency with the remarks—which puts Mr. Scott, also seen as a leading frontrunner for the nomination, closer to becoming President Trump’s VP pick.
President Trump is the only remaining major candidate for 2024 whose running mate has not been selected.
Vice President Kamala Harris will be President Biden’s running mate in 2024, while Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has chosen attorney Nicole Shanahan as his vice president.
