There was a disagreement between Tim Scott and Nikki Haley over whether or not he gave her a head’s up before endorsing Donald Trump for president. “Actually, I texted her the day before … I made my announcement,” Scott told CNN on January 22. According to Haley however, she was not given the courtesy. “That’s not true. He didn’t call. He didn’t text. He didn’t tell me that he was going to do this,” she told the network.
The following day, while speaking in New Hampshire, Trump put Scott on the spot, as he highlighted the former South Carolina senator’s relationship with Haley. “Did you ever think [about how] she actually appointed you, Tim?” Trump said to Scott (via The Hill). “You must really hate her,” the former president added. “I just love you,” Scott responded.
As the race between Haley and Trump continued for the republican nomination, Scott’s backing remained a hot topic. Haley’s son, Nalin Haley, took a shot at his mother’s former ally when he addressed a crowd in South Carolina on February 10. “Senator Judas — excuse me, Senator Scott,” Nalin said, per the Washington Post’s Dylan Wells. A spokesperson for Scott took issue with the inflammatory label. “You’d never hear Ms. Frances or anyone from the Scott family talk like that,” they told the Post’s Wells. The presidential hopeful later said the “Senator Judas” moniker was counterproductive to her campaign. In the following weeks, Scott pushed for her to step aside.
