Is Tim Scott going to be Donald Trump’s VP pick? It’s unclear. But the South Carolina senator just let it be known that if he does become Trump’s running mate, his wedding to Mindy Noce won’t present any scheduling conflicts.

The Washington Post was first to report that Scott and Noce have selected a date in early August, which will allow him to attend the Republican National Convention and be a married man by Election Day:

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), a top vice-presidential prospect for Donald Trump, has planned an early August wedding to his fiancée, Mindy Noce, just weeks after the Republican National Convention during a traditional lull in the campaign season.

… The wedding is scheduled for a time when much of the country is on vacation or distracted by the Summer Olympics. Democrats are planning their nominating convention in Chicago from Aug. 19-22, about a month after Republicans gather in Milwaukee from July 15-18.

The public rollout of Scott’s relationship with Noce — a Charleston-area interior designer who has three children from her previous marriage — has been entwined with his political career in a way we haven’t seen since The American President.

Scott launched his presidential career as a 57-year-old senator who’d rarely mentioned a significant other and once described himself as a “proud” adult virgin. After people started speculating about the candidate’s personal life, he began alluding to a mystery girlfriend in May 2023. Initially, many people doubted that this woman was real, as Scott refused to identify her and his friends seemed unaware of the relationship.

But then Scott escorted Noce, a flesh-and-blood human woman, onto the stage after the third Republican presidential debate in November. The Scott campaign confirmed that she was the candidate’s girlfriend.

Scott’s 2024 campaign didn’t survive, but the relationship did. On January 20, Scott and Noce got engaged, just one day after he endorsed Trump at a campaign event in New Hampshire and signaled that he was open to being Trump’s running mate. Scott went to the Washington Post with the news the following day, though he weirdly made it sound like he was sharing the news against his will.

“As a guy who is mostly an introvert and on the quiet side, having to have a conversation about the engagement is a little, you know, uncomfortable in a way, but it’s the most exciting thing I’ll do with my life besides making Jesus my Lord,” Scott told the paper.

Maybe this is a real-life romantic comedy: Scott, a lonely guy focused on his career in D.C., traveled back to his home state and happened to meet his true love when he least expected it. Or perhaps this is a more cynical tale: A politician acquired a romantic partner because he was worried the GOP would never accept an unmarried 58-year-old man as its vice-presidential nominee. The only thing we know for sure: The timing of the Scott-Noce nuptials isn’t going to solve this mystery.

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