Florida Senator Rick Scott has endorsed former President Donald Trump for re-election in 2024.
Scott made his endorsement in a Thursday op-ed published by Newsweek. The Florida Senator took aim at President Joe Biden's lax border security policies along with the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan which left 13 U.S. service members dead.
"A military that is more focused on pronouns than lethality," Scott wrote. "The complete destruction of women's sports. People getting paid not to go to work. Crime rampant in major U.S. cities and people who break laws no longer being held accountable. A nation where criminals have more rights than victims."
Scott also criticized the Biden administration in the wake of the recent attack on Israel by Islamic militant group Hamas in October stating Biden "reduced oil sanctions and unfroze $6 billion for the Iranian regime."
"I am often asked whether this is the beginning of the end of America," he continued. "It will be, if we stop fighting and cede our country to the incompetent, radical Democrats who are destroying the fundamental values that make America great."
Scott said "Biden's presidency has become an embarrassment to his political party and to our entire nation," though added he was optimistic that America could return to its "rightful position of economic and military strength and the undisputed moral leader of the free world."
"But only with strong leadership in the White House," Scott wrote. "That is why I support my friend President Donald J. Trump to be the 47th president of the United States and encourage every Republican to unite behind his efforts to win back the White House."
"It's time for the Republican Party to come together, behind one candidate, and declare with one voice that we are united in our efforts to defeat Joe Biden and rescue America," Scott wrote in an X post.
While Scott said he knew most of the Republican presidential candidates and respected their decision to run, he maintained "Republican voters ... want to return to the leadership of Donald Trump."
The Florida senator's op-ed went on to praise the former President's record during his time in office.
"It's not morning in America today. It's midnight in America," Scott wrote in reference to a quote from former President Ronald Reagan. "In my view there is one person running who has the strength to bring America back, who is well-positioned to win the Republican primary, and who will win the general election. And that is why I am supporting Donald Trump for president."
Trump currently holds a nearly 46-point advantage on runner-up Republican candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, according to RealClearPolitics. The Florida governor is followed by former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who leads other Republican candidates including entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.
