Why is Donald Trump Jr jumping into a fight on a South Carolina Legislature bill?
The president’s son is weighing in on South Carolina’s attempts to reform its insurance laws.
Donald Trump Jr. posted on X on Tuesday to express his displeasure with the bill making its way through the S.C. Legislature, amplifying another social media user’s shots at the state Senate’s top Republican.
Trump’s post quoted a user who took a swipe at one part of broader effort to overhaul South Carolina’s liability laws around alcohol, saying one provision would protect insurance companies.
“Some of the biggest RINOs are from SC and now a pro-Nikki Haley state Senator is pushing a bill to benefit his insurance clients and hurt South Carolina voters?” said the account DC_Draino, referencing Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield. “We’re watching @shanemassey very closely.”
That post was amplified by Trump, who wrote “Hey South Carolina, what’s going on with this? This bill seems like a complete disaster. Hopefully the legislature gets smart and strikes this down!”
The target is S.244, a bill that would reform insurance liability, primarily to the benefit of businesses that serve alcohol, which have seen their insurance rates skyrocket in recent years. Some venues have even been forced to close due to the increasing insurance rates.
Gov. Henry McMaster called out the issue in his State of the State address last month, saying change was needed to help out businesses hit with high insurance increases.
McMaster posted a clip of his speech Tuesday, about an hour after Trump’s post about the issue.
“The rules on joint and several liability have introduced an element of uncertainty, and uncertainty is the enemy of prosperity,” McMaster said. The standard he referenced means that any bar or restaurant that serves a patron who gets in an accident while intoxicated can be held liable for the entirety of the damages assessed by a court, regardless of how many drinks the business served that patron, how many drinks they’d had to that point, or how many drinks they consumed after leaving.
“Individuals and businesses both large and small are becoming unduly penalized for the actions of others, too often through crippling financial judgments and skyrocketing insurance premiums,” the governor added.
The bill, sponsored by Massey and nine other senators, is being reviewed by a Senate Judiciary subcommittee. It was slated to get another hearing before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Wednesday, but that hearing was rescheduled for 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
But the bill is drawing fire from those concerned it will protect big business rather than those with legitimate claims that they have been wronged. One X user argued the bill is “seemingly tailored to benefit (Massey’s) client, the ‘woke’ insurance giant Allstate.”
The State could not immediately confirm if Allstate is a client of Massey’s. A call to Massey on Wednesday was not immediately returned.
“As an attorney defending Allstate, Massey’s bill aims to shield insurance companies from accountability for negligence, essentially allowing these progressive insurers to prioritize profit over public interest,” user Chuck Callesto said in a post that was quoted by DC_Draino and further amplified by Trump.
But supporters of the effort say liability reform is necessary if more businesses in the Palmetto State aren’t going to close.
“Ultimately, it helps every small business owner in our state that is required to have liquor Liability Insurance,” state Rep. Jay Kilmartin, R-Lexington, shot back in a reply to Callesto. “Nice twist though.”
Underlying the dispute online is that Massey is a former supporter of Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and President Donald Trump’s first-term United Nations ambassador who finished runner-up to Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Massey endorsed South Carolina’s U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-Hanahan, when Scott was a candidate for the GOP nomination last year, and switched to Haley when Scott ultimately dropped out. Callesto also said Massey is “known for his opposition to Trump and his support for Nikki Haley.”
This story was originally published February 13, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
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