Tim Scott has benefited from mentors along the way. He's hoping for another helping hand

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — When Tim Scott was a teenager, a Chick-fil-A manager named John Moniz offered him a sandwich, a job, and four years of indispensable mentoring about how to be a businessman and a citizen. Later, after that helping hand put Scott on a path that eventually led him into politics, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley appointed him to a vacancy in the U.S. Senate.

Now Scott stands on the precipice of perhaps another breathtaking leap, but once again he will need an assist. The South Carolina senator is one of a handful of prominent people being considered by former President Donald Trump to be his running mate this year.

Scott, a rarity as a Black Republican senator from the South, tells his story with rags-to-riches flourish, crediting Moniz for helping to lift him from a dead-end life before Moniz died suddenly while Scott was in college. But Scott's own role in taking advantage of the opportunities that came his way is part of the story, too.

From Moniz, Scott says, he learned the ins and outs of business, how to be a good citizen, and less tangible lessons about how, in order to receive, one must first give. Scott put that guidance to use as he made his way from business into politics.

Haley named him to the Senate seat in late 2012 after Republican Jim DeMint stepped down. That appointment further propelled a political career that had seen Scott rise from county council to the South Carolina Statehouse to Congress. Since then, Scott has proved to be a force in his own right with South Carolina voters as well as the state's political class.

He topped 60% all three times he ran for his Senate seat, building a network of supporters as formidable as any in the state. He largely stayed above the fray of internal party fights, making more friends with the powerful than enemies.

In his wake, he has left a trail of true believers.

“President Trump, if you want a good, honest man who is not going to embarrass you or embarrass this country, Tim Scott is who you need,” said Robert Brown, the mayor of Hampton, a town of about 2,600 in the southern part of the state.

Republican state Sen. Bill Taylor, who got Scott's South Carolina Statehouse parking spot when Scott moved to the U.S. House, said one could not ask for a more compelling story.

“He’s like the embodiment of the American Dream," Taylor said. "He is a preacher for it.”

Still, not every step Scott has taken has ended in success. Scott had hoped his backstory would fuel his presidential run this year, but his campaign was quickly overwhelmed by the shadow of Trump.

Scott initially demonstrated a prowess for fundraising among donors uneasy with Trump, but then he virtually disappeared from the debate stage even without Trump there. Scott's candidacy was further complicated by the fact that South Carolina had a second candidate in Haley.

But after Scott dropped out, he turned against Haley, who had elevated him over friends and allies. Scott did not hesitate to criticize Haley's record in South Carolina and became one of Trump’s biggest backers after leaving the race.

That demonstration of where his loyalty lies was not lost on Trump, who has been known to measure fellow Republicans in terms of their allegiance to him.

“You know, you’re a much better candidate for me than you were for yourself. I mean it. He was like a different person,” Trump said at a February rally. “And I say that with admiration. because I’m the opposite. I’m much better for me than I would be for someone else.”

If Trump goes in another direction for his vice president, Scott faces an uncertain path forward. He promised when he took the U.S. Senate job to serve only two full six-year terms, a vow he reiterated in 2022 when elected to that second full term.

If Trump does not call or the ticket loses in November, Scott’s supporters have suggestions.

“I won’t hold him to that. Circumstances change. Tim could be one of Trump’s greatest allies in the Senate,” Taylor said of Scott’s promise. “I have been very fond of saying — Tim, when you’re done with all that stuff up there, come home and be governor.”

While the South Carolina governor’s seat will be open in 2026 and his supporters keep putting up Scott trial balloons, the senator himself has dismissed the thought. His approval ratings in the state have taken a modest hit over his presidential run.

At 58, there could be other presidential runs.

Lewis Brown, voting in South Carolina’s recent primary runoffs, said Scott’s campaign convinced him that Scott has the stuff for the White House.

“I look at one thing for a vice presidential candidate — can you be president?” Lewis said. “Scott passes that test with flying colors.”

No matter what Trump decides, Scott has another big life change on the horizon. He is getting married later this year.

As he waits for Trump to make a decision, Scott remains a regular presence on news shows on the former president's behalf, making headlines by dodging questions on whether he would accept the results of the 2024 election if Trump loses or ignoring Trump’s support of tariffs that the senator has long been against.

It’s another key test of loyalty for a man trying to take advantage of one more opportunity, someone who has always tried to burn as few bridges behind him as he can — though his relationship with Haley has certainly suffered.

But holding a grudge is not Scott's style, at least not publicly.

At another February rally in South Carolina, Trump rattled off criticism of Haley, who had become more forceful in her criticism of him. Then Trump motioned toward Scott standing behind him.

“She actually appointed you, Tim,” Trump said. “You must really hate her.”

The senator was not having it. Awkwardly, he stepped toward the microphone, then said simply: “I just love you."

FILE - Rep. Tim Scott, from left, speaks to reporters at the South Carolina Statehouse after being officially introduced by Gov. Nikki Haley to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat vacated by departing U. S. Sen. Jim DeMint, Dec. 17, 2012, in Columbia. Scott's life has been a series of people offering a hand that helped him get ahead. Now the senator from South Carolina waits to see if former President Donald Trump gives him another boost and makes him the vice presidential nominee. (Tim Dominick/The State via AP, File)

FILE - Republican candidate for the 1st District, Rep. Tim Scott speaks an election night gathering, June 8, 2010, in North Charleston, S.C. Scott's life has been a series of people offering a hand that helped him get ahead. Now the senator from South Carolina waits to see if former President Donald Trump gives him another boost and makes him the vice presidential nominee. (Brad Nettles/The Post And Courier via AP, File)

FILE - South Carolina state Rep. Tim Scott, one of nine Republicans running for the GOP nomination in the state's 1st Congressional District, talks with a supporter, June 8, 2010, in North Charleston, S.C. Scott's life has been a series of people offering a hand that helped him get ahead. Now the senator from South Carolina waits to see if former President Donald Trump gives him another boost and makes him the vice presidential nominee. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith, File)

FILE - South Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate state Rep. Nikki Haley, left, and Republican congressional candidate Tim Scott campaign, Oct. 7, 2010, in North Charleston, S.C. Scott's life has been a series of people offering a hand that helped him get ahead. Now the senator from South Carolina waits to see if former President Donald Trump gives him another boost and makes him the vice presidential nominee. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith, File)

FILE - South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, from left, announces U.S. Rep. Tim Scott as the state's next U.S. senator as Sen. Jim DeMint looks on at the South Carolina Statehouse Dec. 17, 2012, in Columbia, S.C. Scott's life has been a series of people offering a hand that helped him get ahead. Now the senator from South Carolina waits to see if former President Donald Trump gives him another boost and makes him the vice presidential nominee. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt, File)

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., shakes hands after speaking to reporters in the spin room after a presidential debate between President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump in Atlanta, Thursday, June 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

FILE - Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., speaks in front of President Donald Trump during a campaign rally, Feb. 28, 2020, in North Charleston, S.C. Scott's life has been a series of people offering a hand that helped him get ahead. Now the senator from South Carolina waits to see if former President Donald Trump gives him another boost and makes him the vice presidential nominee. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Beryl roared through open waters on Tuesday as a monstrous Category 5 storm on a path that would take it near Jamaica and the Cayman Islands after earlier making landfall in the southeast Caribbean, killing at least two people.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica and a hurricane watch for Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. Beryl was forecast to start losing intensity on Tuesday but still to be near major hurricane strength when it passes near Jamaica on Wednesday, the Cayman Islands on Thursday and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The center warned that Beryl was expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica, where officials warned residents in flood-prone areas to prepare for evacuation.

“I am encouraging all Jamaicans to take the hurricane as a serious threat,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in a public address late Monday. “It is, however, not a time to panic.”

Beryl is the earliest Category 5 storm ever to form in the Atlantic, fueled by record warm waters.

Early Tuesday, the storm was located about 300 miles (485 kilometers) southeast of Isla Beata in the Dominican Republic. It had top winds of 165 mph (270 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 22 mph (35 kph).

“Beryl remains an impressive Category 5 hurricane,” the National Hurricane Center said.

A tropical storm warning was in place for the entire southern coast of Hispaniola, an island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

As the storm barreled through the Caribbean Sea, rescue crews in the southeast Caribbean fanned out across the region to determine the extent of the damage that Hurricane Beryl inflicted after landing on Carriacou, an island in Grenada, as a Category 4 storm.

One person was reported killed in Grenada and another in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, officials said.

The fatality in Grenada occurred after a tree fell on a house, Kerryne James, minister of climate resilience, environment and renewable energy, told The Associated Press.

She said the nearby islands of Carriacou and Petit Martinique sustained the greatest damage, with water, food and baby formula a priority.

“There is no communication whatsoever," she said. “The prime minister is doing his best to get people over there to render assistance.”

An emergency team was expected to travel to Carriacou on Tuesday morning.

"The situation requires our immediate attention, and all efforts must be made to support our sister islands," said Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell.

Meanwhile, Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, promised to rebuild the archipelago in a statement early Tuesday. He noted that 90% of homes on Union Island were destroyed, and that “similar levels of devastation” were expected on the islands of Myreau and Canouan.

The last strong hurricane to hit the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which killed dozens of people in Grenada.

Beryl has broken several records, including marking the farthest east that a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.

The storm strengthened from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in just 42 hours, which only six other Atlantic hurricanes have done, and never before September, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo.

Beryl is the second named storm in the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in northeast Mexico and killed four people.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted the 2024 hurricane season would be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast called for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.

Associated Press writer Anika Kentish in St. John, Antigua and Associated Press videographer Lucanus Ollivierre in Kingstown, St. Vincent, contributed to this report.

A fisherman looks at fishing vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A fisherman looks at fishing vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Fishing vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl sit upended at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Sylvia Small, right, waits for police approval to enter the pier to check her boat's damages due to Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A fisherman looks out at vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Fisherman Hamilton Cosmos looks at vessels damaged by Hurricane Beryl at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Fishing vessels lie damaged after Hurricane Beryl passed through the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A tree lies on the roof of a house in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, after Hurricane Beryl on Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

Houses damaged by Hurricane Beryl in Kingstown, Srt. Vincent and the Grenadines, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite image taken at 10:50pm EDT shows hurricane Beryl, center, as it moves across the Caribbean on Monday, July 1, 2024. Hurricane Beryl has strengthened to Category 5 status as it crossed islands in the southeastern Caribbean. (NOAA via AP)

Fishermen pull a boat damaged by Hurricane Beryl back to the dock at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)