During an interview on CNN this weekend, host Jake Tapper made a passing reference to guest Sen. Tim Scott as one of a handful of Republican “vice presidential hopefuls.” And, goodness, was the South Carolina senator shocked to hear that.

“I didn’t know that I was a vice presidential hopeful,” Scott said. Who? Moi? “Thank you very much, Jake, for letting me know where I am on the scale.”

The only way that Scott might not be a vice presidential “hopeful”is that the phrase undersells it. He’s not merely sitting by his phone and hopinghe gets the call. He’s actively running for the position in all but declaration. And since the selection of vice presidential nominee is determined by a party of one, Scott—who was, at one time, a senator who avoided the limelight—is undergoing the sort of transformative debasement required for a successful audition.

During the Trump administration, Scott maintained a good relationship with the president. But like much of the Senate GOP, he wasn’t a MAGA evangelist and would flatter the president only as a means to get his pet projects enacted into law. He would occasionally chide Trump for crossing the line, but mostly, he was in the Senate GOP’s broad “haven’t seen the tweet” contingent when it came to responding to daily outrages.

But he would respond. Even if he wasn’t particularly forthcoming in his answers, Scott would reliably take reporters’ questions about upcoming votes, his work on bipartisan police reform measures, and what have you. When he decided he might be interested in running for president, that changed. The senator became much more guarded about speaking freely both in the run-up to and after his presidential campaign launch. Risky endeavors—i.e., potential bipartisan accomplishments—like police reform negotiations came to a halt.

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Scott’s presidential campaign, with its nebulous message of optimism and strategic avoidance of talking about Trump, never took off. He dropped out in November during a television interview, to the surprise of his campaign staff.

Despite the end of his presidential campaign, Scott has maintained a campaignlike presence on the Hill. A few weeks ago, I watched as a couple of reporters separately tried to approach Scott to ask some questions. Before they could speak more than a few words, a flack following the senator handed them business cards and told them to reach out to the office with any questions. There would be no impromptu commentary from the principal on this day. The pivot from walking alone to moving-around-by-phalanx is a well-worn move from senators who are nearing an election and don’t want to screw something up. But Scott isn’t up for reelection in the Senate until 2028.

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Scott’s vice presidential campaign began in earnest when he endorsed Trump in a way that would ensure maximal damage to his fellow South Carolinian, Nikki Haley. It was on the weekend before the New Hampshire primary, the lone early state where Haley—the last best chance to stop Trump—stood a fighting chance of getting a victory. Scott stood behind Trump at his New Hampshire victory party a few days later, on camera, making himself available as a prop.

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“Did you ever think that she actually appointed you [to the Senate], Tim?” Trump asked Scott from the microphone. “Think of it: appointed, and you’re the senator of her state.” After noting that Haley had previously endorsed Trump anyway, Trump said, “You must reallyhate her.”

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Scott laughed nervously and briefly took the microphone to say, “I just loveyou!”

(Speaking of love: Around this time, Scott also got engaged, a life-changing decision that is not unprecedented among men seeking the vice presidency. Unmarried politicians frighten the American voter.)

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Scott has served as a key Trump surrogate and campaigner during the past month on the trail and on television as he competes with the likes of Sen. J.D. Vance and Rep. Elise Stefanik for the VP bid. It’s hard to best those two in a competition of giving oneself fully to Trump. Their transformations have been years in the making, and they are now total. Vance flew to Europe just last week to heckle the Munich Security Conference on Trump’s behalf.

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Vance and Stefanik were the other “vice presidential hopefuls” whom Tapper was asking Scott about. Tapper noted that Vance and Stefanik “have both said that they would not have certified Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory if they had been vice president on Jan. 6, 2021.”

“Would you have?” he asked Scott.

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Well, Scott couldn’t easily say he wouldn’t have certified Biden’s victory, since he, in fact, did voteto certify the election results. And it’s this vote that Scott’s rivals are reminding Trump of as they seek to block his vice presidential candidacy.

Scott chose to dodge Tapper’s question altogether, saying he “wouldn’t answer hypothetical questions,” and noted that the Electoral College certification process in Congress has since been reformed.

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“You’re asking a hypothetical question that you know can never happen again,” Scott said. “That’s the challenge. What CNN and you are focused on are the past. Americans, voters are focused on the future. So what I want to make sure that I do is actually focus on the primary issues confronted by the American people.” There will be a great deal of time for a great many questions during this campaign. How a candidate would have acted in a leadership position during a recent coup attempt is among the worthwhile ones.

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We’ll know in a few months whether Scott’s record of less than 100 percent loyalty to Trump over the years trips up his vice presidential candidacy. But for now, Trump is loving this version of Scott. In a Tuesday town hall on Fox News, Trump confirmed that Scott was on a list of vice presidential candidates he was eyeing. Scott was in the room, and Trump called him out for special attention and some light belittlement.

“A lot of people are talking about that gentleman right over there,” Trump said, referring to Scott. “He’s been such a great advocate. I have to say this in a very positive way: Tim Scott, he has been much better for me than he was for himself. I watched his campaign, and he doesn’t like talking about himself. But, boy, does he talk about Trump. … I called him and I said, ‘Tim, you’re better for me than you were for yourself.’ ”

It’s hard to contest that.

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• Donald Trump
• Republicans
• South Carolina
• 2024 Campaign

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