South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and Fox News Sunday Night in America host Trey Gowdy are longtime friends. Scott, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, appeared on Gowdy’s primetime show on Sunday presumably to speak about the resumption of his presidential campaign after dealing with the flu. However, the interview took a stunning turn when Scott abruptly delivered a bombshell of an announcement: He is suspending his campaign.
“When I go back to Iowa, it will not be as a presidential candidate,” Scott said. “The voters, who are the most remarkable people on the planet … They’re telling me, ‘Not now, Tim.’ I don’t think they’re saying, Trey, ‘no,’ but I do think they’re saying, ‘not now.’”
Gowdy, who was clearly caught off guard by the surprise announcement, sought additional clarification from Scott about his campaign suspension despite, according to Gowdy, “You have plenty of money, you have the highest approval numbers of any candidate that is running, and you are a couple of states away from coming to a state where you are beloved, and you are suspending your presidential campaign?”
Scott responded with a biblical verse and further elaborated on his decision and what he plans to do moving forward.
Here is Tim Scott announcing he is suspending his campaign on Trey Gowdy’s show last night — pic.twitter.com/qPenYlmL8c
— Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) November 13, 2023
The surprise announcement not only caught Gowdy off guard but also his staffers, with, according to Politico, many of them learning of the decision while watching the show.
The South Carolina governor has been trailing in the polls, remaining in the single digits, and barely made the qualification threshold to participate in last week’s third GOP presidential primary debate hosted by NBC News.
With Scott’s exit from the presidential primary race, the field has now dwindled to Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, and former president Donald Trump as the remaining high-profile presidential candidates.