Former President Donald Trump picked up another endorsement on April 16, with Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) becoming the eighth Republican senator to back Trump as he seeks the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
“It is my honor to give my whole-hearted endorsement to Donald J. Trump to be the next President of the United States. I was honored to previously serve in his Administration,” Hagerty said in a post on Twitter Sunday.
Hagerty, who served under Trump as U.S. ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2019, praised the former commander-in-chief for his tough stance against the Chinese Communist Party, his energy policies, and for reducing illegal border crossings.
“Under President Trump, our border was secure, our nation was energy independent, & we witnessed a Blue-Collar Boom that lifted up American workers of all backgrounds,” Hagerty said. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we engaged with strength, & we encouraged our allies to stand strong with us.”
“President Trump stood up against Communist China, brought an end to [former President Barack] Obama’s failed approach of ‘leading from behind,’ and revived our military and law enforcement as they witnessed support from their Commander-in-Chief that had been lacking—and has now gone missing again after two years of Joe Biden’s presidency,” the 63-year-old continued.
“The mandate for a strong America has never been clearer, and I look forward to working again with President Trump to help our great nation find its way back from the precipice to the exceptional role we can and must play as a nation,” he concluded.
The Tennessee native and businessman won the state’s 2020 Senate race and picked up a seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander. The former envoy rode Trump’s endorsement to a win against Democrat Marquita Bradshaw.
GOP Primary
The seven other Republican senators who have endorsed Trump’s presidential bid are Sens. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).
According to Ballotpedia’s endorsement tracker, Trump is leading with the most support from House lawmakers, with 39 members who have chosen to endorse the former president for 2024. He is followed by Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who has been endorsed by one member, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.).
House representatives backing Trump include Reps. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Cory Mills (R-Fla.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), and Max Miller (R-Ohio).
“Under President Trump, we had the best economy in the history of our country. Unemployment was at an all-time low, black Americans were employed at the highest rate ever, our stock market was at a record high, and taxes for the middle class were cut tremendously,” Hunt said in a post on Twitter, announcing his support for Trump.
“We had world peace,” he added. “The United States Embassy in Israel was moved to Jerusalem, the Abraham Accords were ratified, Iran was not on a path to have nuclear weapons, North Korea was in talks to denuclearise, Russia did not invade or annex a sovereign country, and China’s invasion of Taiwan was not imminent.”
Apart from Trump and Haley, other major GOP candidates who have announced their 2024 bids are former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
According to a number of recent polls, Trump is currently the leading Republican candidate.
A survey by Morning Consult, which polled 3,608 potential GOP primary voters from April 7 to April 9, showed that Trump had the support of 56 percent of potential Republican primary voters, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis coming in second with 23 percent of support.
“That 33-percentage-point lead over the past several days marks Trump’s largest since Morning Consult’s tracking of the hypothetical matchup began in December,” the survey says.
DeSantis, second only to Trump in popularity for the 2024 cycle, hasn’t yet formally announced his candidacy, leaving Trump with a strong hold on the top spot for the GOP.
Epoch Times reporter Frank Fang contributed to this report.