BACKING HENRY MAC …
U.S. president Donald Trump is making plans to ride to the rescue of struggling South Carolina governor Henry McMaster – who already owes his political ascendancy to the current occupant of the Oval Office.
According to our sources, Trump is planning on visiting the Palmetto State this fall to campaign for McMaster and raise money for his gubernatorial campaign. His trip is tentatively scheduled for sometime during the month of October, sources familiar with the situation told us this week.
Trump’s appointment of former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley to serve as his ambassador to the United Nations paved the way for McMaster to become governor of the Palmetto State back in January. It was also supposed to have cleared the field for him in the 2018 “Republican” gubernatorial election.
Things haven’t worked out that way, though …
McMaster has been badly damaged by his proximity to an ongoing multi-jurisdictional investigation into corruption in state government. As a result, he has drawn multiple credible challengers – and other gubernatorial candidates are planning to enter the race against him in the weeks to come.
The only thing going for McMaster? Trump – whose insurgent presidential bid McMaster endorsed prior to the February 2016 “First in the South” presidential primary election.
Did McMaster’s endorsement move the needle for Trump in South Carolina? Not really.
Trump was going to win the Palmetto State in a walk whether McMaster supported him or not, but the 70-year-old politician has been able to parlay his opportunistic endorsement into a potentially campaign-saving lifeboat.
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