EXCLUSIVE: Senate Minority Whip John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican leader, is endorsing former President Donald Trump for re-election.
It’s a key win for Trump from the establishment wing of the Republican Party. The South Dakota Republican is Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s top deputy in the Senate GOP.
“The primary results in South Carolina make clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee for president in this year’s pivotal presidential election. The choice before the American people is crystal clear: It’s Donald Trump or Joe Biden,” Thune told Fox News Digital.
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Senate GOP Whip John Thune announced on Sunday that he’s endorsing former President Trump for 2024. (Getty Images)
“I support former President Trump’s campaign to win the presidency, and I intend to do everything I can to see that he has a Republican majority in the Senate working with him to restore American strength at home and abroad,” he continued.
“Together we must put an end to the disastrous Biden-Schumer agenda. Our country cannot endure another four years of Bidenomics, continued lawlessness at our southern border, and American weakness on the global stage.”
Thune and Trump spoke by phone on Saturday night after Trump’s commanding victory in the South Carolina Republican primary, a source familiar with the call told Fox News Digital.
It wasn’t clear before now whether Thune, who’s seen as one of McConnell’s potential successors to lead the Senate Republican Conference, would endorse either of the two major candidates for the 2024 GOP nomination.
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is unlikely to weigh in on the 2024 Republican presidential primary. (Getty Images)