Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., defended his decision to endorse former President Trump over Nikki Haley in the GOP primary after fielding harsh criticism from New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who implied Scott owed Haley his support instead.
"Tim Scott wouldn't have a job without Nikki Haley," Sununu told Fox News Friday. "Nobody cares what Tim Scott thinks. If they did, he actually wouldn't have been driven out of this race three months ago."
Haley appointed Scott to the Senate in 2012 as governor of South Carolina after the resignation of Sen. Jim DeMint.
Scott told "Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy" that the governor should think twice before commenting on someone else's career.
"Well, it's simple. I heard Governor Sununu's comments as well. He was born on third base, your father was a governor and your brother was a U.S. senator, and you're going to give employment advice?" he said.
"I ran against Strom Thurmond's son and won. The governor's namesake son, Caroll Campbell Jr., I ran against his son and won. So, getting to Congress was not just an easy path, but more importantly, Nikki did what was best for South Carolina."
"I'm going to do what's best for America, and that's why I endorsed Donald Trump," he added.
Scott, who was an early contender in the presidential sweeps before suspending his campaign in November, joined Trump at a rally in Concord Friday night to announce his endorsement.
"It really came down to either sitting out or endorsing someone who could lead this nation to the highest level possible and that was simply Donald Trump," he said Sunday. "Having an opportunity to work with him from 2017 to 2020, we produced the highest Opportunity Zones in the nation ever. Opportunity Zones, actually put more resources in the poorest communities across the country."
"We cut taxes by $2.3 trillion. It was fantastic to work with the former president in such a way that we produced the kind of results that said to the American people: No matter where you live, no matter the color of your skin, no matter what coast you're on, no matter whether you're a blue state or red state, your life is going to be better because Donald Trump was president. I made the decision to endorse the president because it was the only option on the table to move America forward," Scott added.
While Scott's presidential campaign failed to ignite, he remains very popular with Republican primary voters and his endorsement has been heavily coveted by the remaining GOP candidates.
Fox News' Charles Creitz, Paul Steinhauser, Rich Edson and James Levinson contributed to this report.
