Sen Tim Scott's surprise announcement on Fox News late Sunday that he is suspending his moribund bid to be the Republican Party's 2024 presidential nominee was greeted by shock from his staffers — and no small amount of amusement by critics of the South Carolina Republican.
Appearing with former Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) Scott, who trailed far behind Donald Trump in the polls and never moved the needle despite months of campaigning, told Gowdy, "When I go back to Iowa it will not be as a presidential candidate. The voters, who are the most remarkable people on the planet … They’re telling me, ‘Not now, Tim.’ I don’t think they’re saying, Trey, ‘no,’ but I do think they’re saying, ‘not now.’”
ABC reported the sudden announcement was not received well by his campaign staff.
"The senior staffer characterized the experience as incredibly frustrating, saying that staff had been working around the clock to accommodate the move, only to completely reverse it. As with the campaign worker who said Scott's staff found out about his departure by watching the senator on TV, the worker was not authorized to discuss the internal deliberations publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity," the report stated.
That set off a tidal wave of commentary on X, formerly known as Twitter, with noted polling analyst Larry Sabato writing, "Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) has suspended his presidential campaign. Another one bites the dust. Don't bother trying to figure out where his votes go. There aren't enough to measure."
Former GOP campaign consultant Rick Wilson weighed in with, "Tim Scott; another billionaire donor-bait candidate without the skills or charisma to do the hard work of campaigning," before adding Monday morning, "It's going to be a great week. First, Tim Scott's campaign is really taking off... Oh. Wait."
MSNBC contributor Sam Stein noted that the Scott campaign was completely unaware of what was to come, to the point that they had, moments before, just sent out an email seeking campaign contributions.
He wrote, "If you were someone who decided to give to Tim Scott's presidential campaign 20 minutes ago, when they sent a fundraising email, I'd be interested in hearing from you."
Comedian Paula Poundstone, echoing multiple comments about Scott's' just revealed girlfriend, joked, "Tim Scott dropped out of the Presidential race. I wonder if he'll have to give the girlfriend back."
Fellow comedian and commentator DL Hughley jumped on the girlfriend bandwagon too, writing: "Damn! #TimScott suspends his campaign? That means he went out and got a girlfriend for nothing! #TeamDl"
"Tim Scott dropping out tells me one thing: DC needs new consultants… They advise to kiss up to trump despite him being the front runner… and think you can win. Flush the pro trump consultants," former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) pointed out.
PoliticusUSA analyst Sarah Reese Jones noted, "Most of Sen. Tim Scott’s South Carolina staff was sent to Iowa. They didn’t know that their boss was quitting his campaign, and now they are stuck in Iowa."
Former congressional aide to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Gary McCoy, referenced Scott's opposition to abortion rights, with a pithy: "Tim Scott should have to carry his campaign to term."
