During a Monday appearance on ABC’s “The View,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) condemned the left-wing talk show hosts for the “dangerous, offensive” and “disgusting” narratives about racism that they push to their viewers.
On May 22, Scott announced his 2024 presidential campaign — and the response to his announcement on “The View” was to push racist and divisive narratives about him. Co-host Joy Behar, who is White, claimed that Scott and other Black Republicans didn’t understand what it means to be Black in America.
“He’s one of these guys, who, you know, he’s like [Supreme Court Justice] Clarence Thomas, Black Republican, believes in pulling yourself by your bootstraps rather than, to me, understanding the systemic racism that African Americans face in this country, and other minorities,” she claimed.
“He doesn’t get it; neither does Clarence, and that’s why they’re Republicans!” Behar added, prompting a round of applause and laughter from the audience.
Scott responded to the comments on Twitter, writing: “When a Black conservative who believes in the future of this nation stands up to be counted, they lose their minds. That’s why I’m the candidate the radical Left fears the most.”
🤷🏾♂️
When a Black conservative who believes in the future of this nation stands up to be counted, they lose their minds.
That’s why I’m the candidate the radical Left fears the most. https://t.co/JBAVZUjpZt
— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) May 23, 2023
The talk show hosts were cordial with Scott during his appearance on the show, with co-host Sunny Hostin claiming that she was “actually happy” that he was there.
“I am actually happy that you’re here,” she said. “We have some things in common. You grew up in a single-family household, a single-mother household. I grew up with both of my parents, but raised in the Bronx, projects amidst a lot of poverty and violence. And you were the first Black senator elected in the South since the Reconstruction. That would be about, I think, about 114 years. Yet you say that your life just disproves left — leftist lies.”
“And my question to you is, I’m the exception, right? You’re the exception,” Hostin continued. “Maybe even Miss Whoopi Goldberg is an exception. But we are not the rule. And so when it comes to racial inequality, it persists. And — and five core aspects of life in the U.S., economics, education, health care, criminal justice and housing. At nearly every turn, these achievements were fought, threatened and erased, most often by white violence. You have indicated that you don’t believe in systemic racism. What is your definition of systemic racism?”
“Let me answer the question that you’ve asked,” Scott attempted to respond before being interrupted.
“Or does it even exist in your mind?” Hostin asked.
“Let me answer the question this way,” Scott replied. “One of the things I think about and one of the reasons why I’m on the show is because of the comments that were made, frankly, on this show, that the only way for a young African American kid to be successful in this country is to be the exception and not the rule. That is a dangerous, offensive, disgusting message to send to our young people today that the only way to succeed is by being the exception. I will tell you that if my life is the exception, I can’t imagine I can’t—”
Hostin again interjected, claiming: “But it is, it’s been 114 years.”
“But it’s not actually, so the fact of the matter is we’ve had an African American president, African American vice president,” Scott explained. “We’ve had two African Americans to be secretaries of state. In my home city, the police chief is an African American who’s now running for mayor. The head of the highway patrol for South Carolina is an African American.”
Yesterday’s exception is today’s rule.
The concept of America is we will become a more perfect union. pic.twitter.com/6sAj424vgy
— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) June 5, 2023
