Sen. Tim Scott says he stands by vote to certify 2020 election

(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who is on the short list to be former President Donald Trump’s running mate, said Sunday he stands by his vote on Jan. 6, 2021, to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. 

“I will stand by that decision and the next decision to certify the fact that Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States,” Scott said on “This Week.” 

When pressed if then-Vice President Mike Pence did the “right thing” by bucking Trump’s demands to block certification of the results, Scott implied that Pence had no choice, saying the “constitution is clear.” 

The remarks come as Scott and others, like Sens. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are being vetted to join Trump on the ticket this November. Whether or not they would have certified the 2020 election results has emerged as a dividing line among some of the possible vice presidential picks. 

Vance told ABC News in February that “we needed to have multiple slates of electors, and I think the U.S. Congress should have fought over it from there.” 

Rubio voted to certify the 2020 election results but said in May that he did so “because at that stage in the process, you have no options.” 

Burgum has accepted Biden as the legitimate 2020 election victor but has been more circumspect on accepting the results of the 2024 race.Trump made his first trip back to the Capitol last week since the riot to discuss future policy plans with congressional Republicans. Scott, who met with Trump, praised the former president’s policies to help working class Americans. 

“The working-class coalition that is now supporting Donald Trump is supporting Donald Trump because they know … they were better off under Donald Trump,” Scott said. “And so, what we talked about during the meeting with President Trump is the importance of focusing on the actual working class.” 

Karl also pressed Scott on whether or not he supported a recent Supreme Court decision on bump stocks. 

Scott said “we trust and believe and respect the decision of the Supreme Court,” though he demurred when asked about his past support for legislation codifying a ban on the device.