The Senate's No. 2 Republican, John Thune, gave his endorsement to former United States President Donald Trump to be the GOP's presidential nominee for the 2024 race.
The support of the South Dakota Republican, who has been critical of the former president, is the latest indication of Trump's grip on the party. The latest development comes on the heels of the Republican businessman's victory on Saturday during the South Carolina primary.
John Thune Endorses Donald Trump for President
The endorsement is also particularly notable given Thune's vocal skepticism regarding Trump's strength as a general election candidate and the role that he plans in the establishment wing of the Republican Party.
In a phone call on Saturday night, Thune and Trump spoke after the primary was called and the senator told the former president that he would be endorsing him. The South Dakota senator is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's top deputy and is considered to be the potential successor to the Kentucky Republican.
Thune also backed Sen. Tim Scott for president before the South Carolina senator dropped out of the race in November last year. Last month, he also said that he would support the eventual GOP nominee but his endorsement comes despite misgivings from some in the party, as per CNN.
The senator said last month that he was always worried about the former president's viability as a general election candidate. He noted that general elections are won in the middle of the electorate, adding that it has repercussions for Senate races as well.
While House GOP leadership quickly rallied in support of the former president, Senate Republicans have been slower to do the same. McConnell has not spoken to Trump in more than three years and makes efforts to avoid uttering his name in public.
Supporting the GOP's Presidential Nominee
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, who is the third-ranking member of Senate GOP leadership, expressed his support of Trump just before the Iowa caucuses. Another possible future leader, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who tends to stay out of contested primaries, backed the former president after the latter's New Hampshire primary victory.
Last month, Thune acknowledged that Trump seems to be on a strong path toward victory in upcoming primaries across the United States. He said that he is interested in what the people are saying, adding that voters are breaking heavily in Trump's favor, according to The Hill.
Republican senators have faced growing pressure in the past few weeks to endorse the party front-runner in the presidential race. While many GOP leaders have already endorsed Trump, Scott did so after he suspended his own presidential campaign. There were some who hoped that he would instead endorse former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
McConnell, in contrast to other Republicans, has not endorsed Trump, whom he drifted apart from following the unprecedented Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riot. On the other hand, Trump had previously called for Thune to have a primary challenger when the latter ran for re-election in 2022. He called the senator a "Republican in name only," said the Washington Post.
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