Veteran political analyst Brit Hume voiced skepticism Monday on Fox News over Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott’s chances for Senate leadership, despite an endorsement wave from some high-profile Trump-aligned figures.
President-elect Donald Trump’s allies appear to be rallying around Scott, hoping his bid to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as the Senate GOP leader might draw momentum, but Hume warned that backing the Florida senator could backfire — especially in the eyes of Senate Republicans, who traditionally guard their autonomy fiercely. During an appearance on Fox News’s “Special Report,” Hume said the push might be more of a hindrance than a help.
“You’ve got Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk and others who are supporting Senator Scott. I actually think Senator Scott’s kind of a longshot. The reason being that, for example, he was head of the Republican National Senatorial Committee in the ’21-’22 election cycle, raised a ton of money,” Hume said. “As you may recall, Republicans had a terrible result in those midterm elections. Remember the red wave was supposed to come? It never broke.”
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Hume argued that the pressure from Trump’s circle might backfire with Senate colleagues, noting senators’ strong attachment to their autonomy and deep-seated resistance to external influence.
“And I don’t think he’s close to a lot of senators. And I think this pressure from Trump world to support him is likely to backfire. Senators are jealous of their authority, their powers. They don’t like to be told what to do. And I think that the other two candidates are more likely to win. I couldn’t tell you which one, but I think Scott’s a longshot,” Hume explained.
Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., along with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson, joined other prominent Trump allies in supporting Scott. Musk took to social media to endorse Scott for Senate majority leader on Sunday.
“Rick Scott of Florida is the only candidate who agrees with Donald Trump. Call your senator and demand a public endorsement of Rick Scott. Don’t let McConnell get away with it again,” Carlson wrote on X, previously known as Twitter.
“Without Rick Scott, the entire Trump reform agenda wobbly,” Kennedy posted. Ramaswamy reiterated his previous stance from earlier in the year, endorsing Scott for the role of senate majority leader.
