南卡罗来纳州斯帕坦堡参议员蒂姆·斯科特(Tim Scott)正在他的家乡南卡罗来纳州推出140多名现任和前任当选官员的支持，旨在在南方第一个总统初选州展示力量。
斯科特和其他总统竞选人的目标是继续他们的竞选活动，因为政界很多人都在分析共和党领跑者的起诉书唐纳德·特朗普几十项联邦指控。
在周一正式宣布之前，美联社(Associated Press)分享了支持者名单，其中包括南卡罗来纳州参议院现任共和党领袖、州参议员谢恩·马西(Shane Massey)，他称斯科特是“我们现在在白宫需要的真正的保守派领导人。”
丹尼尔·里肯曼(Daniel Rickenmann)于2021年当选为南卡罗来纳州首府哥伦比亚市的第一位共和党市长，他称赞斯科特的职业生涯，他说他的职业生涯一直是“关注家乡人民，支持当地政府解决实际问题”。
斯科特还列出了前美国众议员亨利·布朗的官方支持，在2011年被时任州长妮基·黑利任命为美国参议院议员之前，斯科特曾两次赢得第一区国会议员席位，现在是斯科特2024年共和党总统候选人提名的竞争对手之一。
这份名单还包括其他28名现任州议员，包括强大的州众议院筹款委员会主席布鲁斯·班尼斯特(Bruce Bannister)，以及前议员，包括长期担任众议院议长的鲍比·哈勒尔(Bobby Harrell)，全州16个城镇的市长和数十名县级官员。
周一，班尼斯特称斯科特是“一个分享我们传统、保守价值观的人”，并称斯科特对信仰的强调“为什么南卡罗来纳州需要华盛顿特区的蒂姆·斯科特，这就是为什么美国需要蒂姆·斯科特成为下一任美国总统。”
斯科特说，他“很荣幸得到前同事和朋友的支持。”他之前得到了几位参议院同事的支持，包括南达科他州的约翰·图恩(John Thune)和迈克·劳斯(Mike Rounds)。图恩上个月在北查尔斯顿的斯科特发布会上发表了讲话。
南卡罗来纳州对斯科特的支持正值共和党人试图在特朗普对几十项与他处理机密文件有关的联邦指控提出前所未有的起诉之际。特朗普定于周二在迈阿密的联邦法院出庭，他周末在佐治亚州和北卡罗来纳州的共和党大会上露面时，抨击针对他的案件是“荒谬的”和“毫无根据的”。
斯科特将于本周晚些时候在爱荷华州开展竞选活动，他是2024年共和党候选人之一，与特朗普一起批评针对他的案件。斯科特和佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯一起谴责司法部对前总统提出指控的“武器化”。
生物技术企业家Vivek Ramaswamy承诺，如果特朗普当选，他将赦免他。拉马斯瓦米表示，联邦案件是“对每个公民的侮辱”的一部分，并称“DOJ选择性地起诉川普而不是“总统”是虚伪的”乔·拜登关于他自己的机密文件的案子。
哈利曾担任特朗普驻联合国大使，目前正在与特朗普争夺共和党提名。他周一在福克斯新闻频道频道表示，“两件事可以同时成为事实。”她呼应了许多共和党人的观点，即“DOJ和联邦调查局已经失去了美国人民的所有信誉”，但补充说，“如果这项指控是真的，如果它所说的是真的，特朗普总统对我们的国家安全非常鲁莽。”
在对特朗普的联邦指控详细说明之前，哈利谴责这种情况是“仇杀政治”的案例。
周一，当被问及如果当选，他是否会原谅特朗普时，斯科特表示，他“不会进入假设”，但表示这一概念是“一个非常重要的概念”。斯科特还表示，拜登正在以“双重标准”行事，他说这“既不符合美国精神，也不可接受”，并承诺“恢复对司法部的信心和诚信”。
但斯科特称针对特朗普的案件是“一个严重的案件，有严重的指控”，并补充说，“在美国，在被证明有罪之前，你仍然是无辜的。”
前阿肯色州州长阿萨·哈钦森(Asa Hutchinson)表示，联邦起诉书标志着“我们国家悲伤的一天”，并“重申唐纳德·特朗普需要尊重办公室，结束他的竞选活动。”
Scott rolls out dozens of South Carolina lawmakers and local leaders endorsing his presidential bid
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Sen. Tim Scott is rolling out endorsements from more than 140 current and former elected officials from his home state of South Carolina, aiming to make a show of force in the first-in-the-South presidential primary state.
The backing comes as Scott and other presidential contenders aim to carry on with their campaigns as much of the political world parses the indictment of GOP front-runner Donald Trump on dozens of federal charges.
The list of supporters, shared with The Associated Press ahead of an official announcement on Monday, includes state Sen. Shane Massey, the current Republican leader of South Carolina's Senate, who called Scott “the authentic conservative leader we need in the White House right now.”
Daniel Rickenmann, elected in 2021 as the first Republican-aligned mayor of South Carolina's capital city of Columbia in decades, lauded Scott's career, which he said had been spent “focusing on people back home and supporting local government to solve real problems."
Scott also lists the official endorsement of former U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, whose 1st District congressional seat Scott won twice before he was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2011 by then-Gov. Nikki Haley — now among Scott's rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
The list also includes 28 other current state lawmakers, including Rep. Bruce Bannister, chairman of the powerful state House Ways and Means Committee, as well as former lawmakers including longtime House Speaker Bobby Harrell, 16 mayors of cities and towns across the state and dozens of county-level officials.
On Monday, Bannister called Scott “a guy who shares our traditional, conservative values” and called Scott's emphasis on faith “why South Carolina needs Tim Scott in Washington, D.C., and that's why America needs Tim Scott to be the next president of the United States.”
Scott said he was “honored to receive the endorsements of former colleagues and friends." He previously was endorsed by several Senate colleagues, including John Thune and Mike Rounds, both of South Dakota. Thune spoke at Scott's launch event last month in North Charleston.
The South Carolina endorsements of Scott come as Republicans aim to navigate the campaign amid Trump's unprecedented indictment on dozens of federal charges related to his handling of classified documents. Slated to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday, Trump spent the weekend blasting the case against him as “ridiculous” and “baseless” during appearances at GOP conventions in Georgia and North Carolina.
Scott, who campaigns later this week in Iowa, is among the 2024 Republican hopefuls who have joined Trump in criticizing the case against him. Along with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Scott has decried the “weaponization” of the Department of Justice in making its allegations against the former president.
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has pledged to pardon Trump if he's elected. Ramaswamy said the federal case was part of “an affront to every citizen” and called it “hypocritical for the DOJ to selectively prosecute Trump but not” President Joe Biden over his own classified documents case.
Haley — who served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations and is now vying against him for the GOP nomination — said on Fox News Channel on Monday that “two things can be be true a the same time.” She echoed many Republicans' arguments that “the DOJ and FBI have lost all credibility with the American people,” but added that “if this indictment is true, if what it says is actually the case, President Trump was incredibly reckless with our national security.”
Before the federal allegations against Trump were detailed, Haley decried the situation as a case of “vendetta politics.”
Asked on Monday if he would pardon Trump if elected, Scott said he was “not going to get into hypotheticals” but said the notion was “a very important concept." Scott also said Biden was operating on a “double standard” that he said was “both un-American and unacceptable” and pledged to “restore confidence and integrity in the Department of Justice.”
But Scott called the case against Trump “a serious case, with serious allegations,” adding that, “in America, you're still innocent until proven guilty.”
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the federal indictment marked “a sad day for our country” and “reaffirms the need for Donald Trump to respect the office and end his campaign.”
