Donald Trump To Roll Out ‘First In The South’ Leadership Team

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With his political fortunes flagging, former U.S. president Donald Trump is headed to a state where he remains beloved by the “Republican” party establishment.

The 45th president is headed to the South Carolina State House in downtown Columbia later this month to roll out his 2024 Palmetto State “leadership team,” according to a media advisory. Who will be on that team? According to the announcement, Trump will be joined at the event by S.C. governor Henry McMaster and U.S. senator Lindsey Graham as well as unnamed “members of the South Carolina congressional delegation and state lawmakers.”

Drew McKissick – leader of the S.C. Republican Party (SCGOP) – is also expected to attend the event, sources familiar with the gathering have told this news outlet.

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McMaster belatedly hopped on Trump’s bandwagon in 2016 – and has used his relationship with the former present to rescue him politically on multiple occasions over the past eight years. Graham is an erstwhile #NeverTrumper who flip-flopped and began supporting Trump in late 2017 when it became clear he was about to lose his seat in the U.S. Senate.

Opportunistic sycophants, in other words. Both of them.

Trump is currently the only announced GOP presidential candidate. He won the Palmetto State’s “First in the South” presidential primary in 2016 as an outsider – en route to his upset victory over former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Four years later, in 2020, the SCGOP controversially canceled its quadrennial election as a sop to Trump even though he had primary opposition (including former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford).

As I noted last month, Trump has seen his star fade among GOP voters nationally following the 2022 midterm elections. Several recent polls have shown his top potential 2024 rival – Florida governor Ron DeSantis – besting him in a hypothetical contest between the two candidates.

Trump also saw his influence among the conservative wing of the party questioned during the recent fight over the speakership of “Republican” leader Kevin McCarthy.

In South Carolina, Trump remains a favorite of the GOP establishment – although several top political figures in the state (all of whom previously worked for him) could wind up either running against him or endorsing one of his rivals.

Among them? Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley – who is mulling a 2024 bid of her own.

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Trump also tried and failed to take out U.S. congresswoman Nancy Mace in the Palmetto State’s first congressional district last spring – although he did endorse Mace ahead of her emphatic general election victory over Democrat Annie Andrews last fall.

The former president is also staunchly opposed by his one-time chief of staff, former U.S. congressman Mick Mulvaney, who has emerged as a key behind-the-scenes player in Palmetto politics.

FITSNews endorsed Trump ahead of the 2016 “First in the South” presidential primary because he promised to blow up the Republican establishment – which he did. The site also backed him in the general election that year because he vowed to cut middle class taxes and slash deficit spending.

Unfortunately, Trump was not true to his word.

Contrary to his campaign promises, Trump was absolutely terrible on these bread and butter fiscal issues. In fact, he stayed terrible on the fiscal front right up to the bitter end of his administration – which is one reason the pre-Covid economy failed to grow as fast as it could have (and part of the reason we are dealing with runaway inflation).

Trump’s event will be held at 4:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, January 28, 2023 at the State House.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.

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