U.S. Sen. Rick Scott’s reelection race will be decided in less than a week. He’s already running for the next thing.
Scott appeared on conservative activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer’s podcast Tuesday night to discuss his bid for U.S. Senate Republican leader. In the appearance, the two talked about his 2024 race, the state of national Republican politics and Scott’s stance on Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations of people in the country illegally.
“Do you support mass deportations?” Loomer asked Scott.
“If you’re here illegally, you’re here illegally. It’s real simple,” Scott replied. “You shouldn’t be here. Simple as that.”
Scott’s appearance was noteworthy both for its host and its timing. Loomer briefly became a talking point in the 2024 presidential race when former President Trump traveled with her to two events in September, including his debate against Kamala Harris. At the time, critics — including conservative Republicans — questioned why Trump, the Republican nominee for president, would associate himself with Loomer, who has a history of inflammatory statements and bigoted rhetoric. (She once called herself a “proud Islamophobe.”)
The Republican senator’s decision to appear on Loomer’s show a week before the election shows how confident Scott seems to be in his chances of winning another term in the race against Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. While Trump’s team saw Loomer as enough of a political liability to tell reporters she had no bearing on the campaign’s policy decisions or strategy, Scott spent one of the final nights before the election with her.
It also shows the lane Scott appears to be occupying in the race for Senate leader. He’s running as the Trumpiest candidate.
“No one’s been a bigger supporter in the Senate than me for Donald Trump and what he believes in,” Scott said.
Republican senators will pick their next leader Nov. 13 — eight days after the election.
For half an hour, Loomer teed up softball questions about the perceived front-runners in the race for Senate Republican leader: John Cornyn of Texas and John Thune of South Dakota. Loomer accused the two of being insufficiently loyal to Trump and said they oppose Trump’s immigration policies and disagree with Trump’s assertion that the 2020 election was stolen. (There is no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.)
Scott voted against certifying the 2020 election results in Pennsylvania despite the fact that there was no widespread fraud.
“Donald Trump’s entire second administration will 100% be undermined and thwarted if John Thune or John Cornyn become the next Senate GOP leader,” Loomer said. “The only way we are going to have a successful Trump administration and somebody who is actually going to impose a MAGA majority in the Senate is if Sen. Rick Scott becomes our next Senate GOP leader.”
The appearance did not escape the attention of Florida Democrats. Hours before it aired, Democrats criticized the senator for appearing with “a Known Racist.”
