Former President Donald Trump picked up the endorsement of Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) on Thursday as he mounts a third run for the White House in 2024.
Budd, elected to the Senate in 2022 with the endorsement of the former president, contrasted the last two years under President Joe Biden with Trump’s first term in office in a statement announcing his support. Budd is now the seventh GOP senator to back Trump’s bid. His announcement follows a string of House endorsements the former president has received in recent weeks.
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“Just a few years ago America was strong, but now under Joe Biden, we are a nation in decline,” Budd said. “Our economy is faltering, our wide-open southern border is tragically wrecking lives, and our country’s power and influence in the world is diminished. Under President Trump, our economy saw record-setting growth, and families were starting to get ahead. Neighborhoods were safer. Across the globe, we were achieving peace. We were respected by allies and feared by enemies. That’s why I endorse Donald J. Trump for President. Hardworking, everyday families need a return of the America First agenda to restore prosperity and peace.”
Budd joins a growing cadre of senators backing the former president. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) announced her support earlier this month, joining Sens. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), J.D. Vance (R-OH), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Eric Schmitt (R-MO).
The Budd endorsement, reported by Breitbart News, comes on the heels of Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) throwing his support behind Trump last week, a surprise announcement given the Florida Republican’s close relationship with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). The governor, considered Trump’s chief rival in 2024, is expected to announce a presidential run of his own, setting up a high-stakes battle between two Sunshine State Republicans vying for the GOP nomination.
Besides Donalds, three other Florida House Republicans are backing Trump: Reps. Cory Mills, Anna Paulina Luna, and Matt Gaetz. Several others are expected to endorse him in the coming days.
The endorsements have set off a lobbying blitz by DeSantis, who is reportedly making calls to lawmakers to tamp down future announcements for Trump. DeSantis has so far earned endorsements from two House lawmakers: Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Thomas Massie (R-KY).
Some of the support for Trump has come amid his indictment by a grand jury in Manhattan. Hyde-Smith announced her support hours before the former president was arraigned in New York, while Mills called on Republicans to rally behind the former president as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg prosecutes him on charges of falsifying business records. Republicans have generally denounced Bragg’s case as politically motivated.
Budd, formerly a House lawmaker and member of the Freedom Caucus, has called the investigation a “disgrace.”
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He has been an ally of the former president in Congress, objecting in 2020 to the certification of the presidential election following the storming of the Capitol.
Budd was elected to the Senate in a close race that pitted him against Cheri Beasley, the former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. He defeated her by 3 points.
