South Carolina Senator Tim Scott endorses Donald Trump, Nikki Haley Brushes it off

New Hampshire - In a major blow to GOP Presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott endorsed Former US President Donald Trump's bid to the White House. Scott who decided to drop out of the presidential race in November last year, took to a stage in New Hampshire on Friday night (local time) and insisted that the United States needs a president who will “unite the country,” The Washington Post reported. The news of Scott's endorsement of Trump started to float around after Trump posted an image of Scott heading to the US State which is scheduled to conduct its primaries soon. 

“We need a president who will close our southern border today. We need a President Donald Trump,” Scott told a massive crowd at a campaign stop in Concord, New Hampshire. “We need a president who will unite our country. We need Donald Trump," he added. Scott's outright endorsement of Trump came as a major blow to Haley because she was the Governor of South Carolina, she appointed him to the US Senate in 2013. “That’s why I came to the very warm state of New Hampshire to endorse the next president of the United States – President Donald Trump," the erstwhile presidential hopeful exclaimed. Shortly after the endorsement, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who endorsed Haley last month, brushed off Scott’s endorsement. “Nobody cares what Tim Scott thinks," Sununu told Fox News. “Tim Scott wouldn’t have a job without Nikki Haley,” he added.  

Nikki Haley reacts

Meanwhile, Nikki Haley dismissed went on to dismiss the endorsement. “The fellas are gonna do what the fellas are gonna do," she told local reporters on Friday. In a separate statement, Haley drew on Trump's own words to criticize Scott's endorsement. "Interesting that Trump's lining up with all the Washington insiders when he claimed he wanted to drain the swamp," Haley said in the statement. Trump on the other hand thanked Scott and called him a “very good man” and a “very respected individual”. The former US President went on to discourage Republicans from "wasting hundreds of millions of dollars" attacking him and accused Haley of engaging in an "unholy alliance" with "RINOs" and "never-Trumpers." The endorsement came a month after Scott pledged to not run for reelection in the Senate. While speaking to CNBC the Conservative leader went on to call the government body "Squawk Box". The decision led to a rise in reports that Scott might be vying to be Trump's running mate, ABC News reported. However, neither Trump nor Scott alluded to this assertion.