South Carolina Lt. Gov Henry McMaster announced Wednesday night that he is endorsing Donald Trump for president.
McMaster is now the first statewide office-holder to endorse Trump. The lieutenant governor is a longtime ally of Gov. Nikki Haley, and his endorsement is sure to turn heads. In 2012, he endorsed Jon Hunstman.
Before a Lexington County crowd of 4,000, Mcmaster said, “[Trump]’s a man of action.”
“He speaks in words that everybody understands,” he added. “It’s a delightful thing to see,” the Charleston Post and Courier reports.
While Trump’s candidacy has been defined by a fighting spirit towards the so-called establishment, if anyone is an embodiment of the “establishment” it’s McMaster. Before being elected Lt.Gov he chaired the state Republican Party for nine years, and prior he was appointed U.S Attorney for South Carolina by President Reagan.
“He has a love for the people of this country,” said McMaster. He continued to say that Trump has, “The strength and the determination to get the job done and that’s what we need right now.”
Hours prior to McMaster’s announcement, his boss Gov. Haley attempted to clarify her State of the Union rebuttal.
“If you’re going to take in context, talk about all the groups which is whether it’s groups that are rioting in Baltimore, whether it’s Donald Trump, whether it’s those who are wanting to ban a whole religion, whether it’s those who are getting upset in a way that they singling out a certain group. That’s what we’re talking about,” she told reporters.
Following McMaster’s introduction and endorsement, Trump said, “The people of South Carolina are amazing, and I continue to lead all state polls by wide, double-digit margins.”
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