Former South Carolina congressman Trey Gowdy is known for being a cool customer.
But he wasn’t prepared for what he heard on his Fox News show.
And Trey Gowdy was shocked when a GOP candidate made this major 2024 decision.
No one is quite sure why Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) was running for the Republican Presidential nomination.
The mild-mannered South Carolina Senator failed to gain any traction with GOP voters despite the backing of a well-funded super PAC supporting his campaign.
Mired in the low single digits in most Primary polling, it became a matter of when, not if, he would drop out of the race.
Scott shocked Fox News host Trey Gowdy, his former colleague in the House, when he announced out of the blue on live TV that he was pulling the plug on his Presidential campaign during an appearance on Sunday Night in America.
Gowdy asked him how he was feeling after dealing with a bout of the flu.
“How are you feeling and when are you gonna get back on the campaign trail?” Gowdy asked.
“I’ve been drinking a lot of water,” Scott answered. “I’ll be down for another couple of days. But I’m looking forward to getting back on the campaign trail.”
That’s when Scott dropped the bombshell that he was not returning to the campaign trail as a Presidential candidate.
“But when I go back to Iowa, it will not be as a Presidential candidate,” Scott said. “I am suspending my campaign. I think the voters, who are the most remarkable people on the planet, have been really clear that 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.’ So, I’m gonna respect the voters and I’m gonna hold on and keep working really hard, and look forward to the other opportunity.”
A visibly shocked Gowdy was taken aback at the announcement.
“You are– you are suspending your Presidential campaign?” Gowdy said with surprise. “You have plenty of money. You have the highest approval of any candidate that is running and you’re– you’re a couple of states from coming to a state where you are beloved, and you are suspending your Presidential campaign?”
Scott responded by saying he was indeed suspending his struggling Presidential campaign.
“I’m trying to process this information and I’m trying to do it on live television, so forgive me,” Gowdy explained.
Scott becomes the latest GOP candidate to drop out of the Presidential race as 2024 draws closer.
Talk radio show host Larry Elder, businessman Perry Johnson, and former Vice President Mike Pence have all pulled out of the Primary.
The GOP Primary field is starting to winnow as the also-ran candidates get out before voting gets underway.