Hagerty becomes eighth GOP senator to endorse Trump in 2024 primary
Emily Jacobs
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Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) formally endorsed former President Donald Trump’s 2024 reelection bid on Sunday, becoming the eighth GOP senator to wade into the presidential primary.
Trump endorsed Hagerty, who previously served as the 45th president’s ambassador to Japan, in the 2020 Tennessee Senate primary, securing his victory in what was a crowded field to be the general election candidate in a deep red state. It now appears Hagerty is returning the favor, as Trump works to maintain his frontrunner status amid a steady drip of new primary challengers.
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“It is my honor to give my whole-hearted endorsement to Donald J. Trump to be the next President of the United States,” the Tennessee senator wrote on Twitter. “I was honored to previously serve in his Administration.”
Hagerty went on to praise the former president for his emphasis on border security, his energy policies, and the rate of blue-collar job growth under his leadership, before taking a dig at President Joe Biden’s leadership style.
“President Trump stood up against Communist China, brought an end to 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,” he wrote. “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.”
Hagerty is the seventh GOP senator to weigh in on the primary race for Trump. The others are Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), JD Vance (R-OH), and Ted Budd (R-NC). Budd endorsed Trump on Thursday.
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Trump and Hagerty spent time together at the Republican National Committee donor retreat in Nashville, Tennessee, this weekend. The two reportedly had dinner together on Friday with other members of the Tennessee GOP Congressional delegation, including Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN). They also played golf on Sunday morning with musician Kid Rock and golf legend John Daly.
The endorsement comes less than a week after Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) became the first senator to enter the 2024 presidential race. Scott is far from the only member of the chamber with presidential ambitions, though a number have opted not to run this cycle as Trump and Biden maintain steady leads with their respective primary electorates.