Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican running for his party’s 2024 presidential nomination, blasted former President Barack Obama on Sunday for continuing to fixate on race in multi-cultural America.
During a recent CNN podcast, Obama, the first black to hold the presidency, emphasized the importance of voters being skeptical of GOP candidates who fail to present a comprehensive plan to address the long-standing repercussions of centuries of racism.
Obama focused on Scott, the only black Republican member in the Senate, and Nikki Haley, a GOP presidential candidate of Indian heritage, arguing that there has been a “history” of Republican candidates who “validate” the United States without fully acknowledging and addressing the country’s complex past.
During ain interview on “Fox News Sunday” with Scott, host Shannon Bream highlighted the senator’s previous discussions about experiencing racial profiling, including incidents involving law enforcement inside the U.S. Capitol. Bream asked whether Scott’s personal experiences support Obama’s assertion that racism remains a significant problem, even for minorities who have achieved success in the U.S. today.
“Absolutely not,” Scott said. “Whenever the Democrats feel threatened, they drag out the former president and have him make some negative comments about someone running, hoping that their numbers go down.”
Scott went on to say that the “truth” of his life “disproves the lies of the radical Left.”
He directed his attention towards combating poverty and highlighted his efforts in creating “Opportunity Zones,” a program aimed at attracting investments to economically disadvantaged areas nationwide. Scott emphasized that this initiative has resulted in over $50 billion going “into the poorest, hardest hit communities in this country. The majority of them are minority.”
Scott also addressed the issue of funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), pointing out that Obama “totally missed it” during his two terms in office. He highlighted his own efforts in increasing funding for HBCUs and ensuring their permanence through a bill signed by former President Donald Trump in 2019.
Another point centered on the issue of school choice. “The radical Left and the teachers unions refuse to allow quality education in big blue cities. I support school choice because I support common sense,” Scott said.
“The radical Left and President Obama: They have failed, they have failed, and they have failed,” Scott said.
He said if he’s elected president, he “will make sure that kids have quality education in every single zip code. We’ll work on ‘Opportunity Zones 2.0’ to make sure that we bring more resources, more opportunities, and more jobs to the hardest hit areas, whether that’s rural Iowa or inner-city Chicago.”
“There is a way for us to alleviate poverty, not by a race, but by the statistics themselves,” Scott added. “That’s what America stands for. If anyone should be standing and shouting at the mountaintops that America is not a racist country, it should be the man that Americans supported twice for the nomination and becoming president.”
“The evolution of America is palpable. Progress in this nation, undeniable,” he concluded.
