Tim Scott endorsement of Donald Trump latest sign GOP is consolidating around former president

 Senator Tim Scott - as he supports the former president - argues that 'now is the time to unify our party behind Donald Trump'

Concord, N.H. - South Carolina Senator Tim Scott - minutes after endorsing Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination - told Fox News it is time for the GOP to rally around the former president.

After formally endorsing the former president at a Trump campaign rally in New Hampshire's state capital, Scott stressed, "This is the time for us to unify our party to make sure that we achieve the only goal we can." What they're talking about is firing Joe Biden."

"The best way for us to get rid of Joe Biden as president is to unify our party behind Donald Trump," Scott said.

Scott, who ended his White House bid in November, last week became the third former Republican presidential candidate to endorse Trump.

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum joined Trump at a rally in Indianola, Iowa, last weekend to support Trump. And multi-millionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy endorsed Trump on Monday night, after he suspended his campaign after a disappointing finish in the Iowa caucuses. Ramaswamy joined Trump at a rally in Atkinson, New Hampshire the next evening.

And it's not just former Republican presidential nomination rivals.

Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, becomes the 26th GOP lawmaker in the upper chamber to support Trump. About 120 House Republicans and 10 governors are also supporting Trump.

Trump, a strong contender for the nomination as he runs for a third consecutive term in the White House, faces competition from his two remaining GOP 2024 rivals — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley – well ahead of the curve. It comes to support.

"It's strange to see an outsider have all the people in D.C. and unify the party so quickly," veteran Republican strategist Matthew Bartlett told Fox News.

Pointing to Tuesday's New Hampshire GOP presidential primary, where polls show Trump holding a double-digit lead over Haley, while DeSantis is in third place by single digits, Bartlett said, "We'll see. What happens on Tuesday, but right now it looks like a normal election campaign."

A year ago, in early 2023, the former president was the only declared candidate in the race for the Republican nomination.

However, that was far from a sure thing.

DeSantis, after a landslide gubernatorial reelection less than two months ago, was in a tight race with Trump in the first few 2024 polls.

The former president was still facing considerable criticism from fellow Republicans for contributing to the GOP's poor showing in the 2022 midterms.

Additionally, the launch of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida just weeks after the midterm elections was condemned by many pundits.

But Trump's four impeachments in the past year, including charges of trying to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss, have only boosted his support among Republican presidential primary voters.

On Monday, Trump canceled the contest in the Iowa caucuses, the first contest on the GOP nominating calendar.

While Haley and DeSantis remain in the battle for the Republican nomination, Matt Mowers told Fox News, "A lot of people are starting to look beyond the primaries."

But Mowers, a veteran of the Trump State Department who later won the 2020 Republican nomination in New Hampshire's 1st congressional district, highlighted that "New Hampshire also has a tendency to surprise at times, so we'll see that." How it all changes."