South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott noted in an interview that aired Wednesday he isn’t serving in Congress on behalf of a single demographic but rather for all residents of his state and Americans generally.
In an interview with “Fox & Friends,” Scott, discussed his rise in politics, going from local office to Congress and eventually to the U.S. Senate, adding that as the state’s first African-American GOP senator, he wasn’t called to only serve black people.
Scott, who was first appointed to the position in 2013 by then-South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley after Sen. Jim DeMint retired, said he “never dreamed” he would get that opportunity as he reflected on his historic achievement.
“I think I’m burdened” by that history, he said, “meaning that so many times the conversation starts off about ‘the first African-American senator from the South. Blessing and curse at the same time.
“My theory is I’m not called to serve black people. I’m just called to serve Americans. I think it says a lot about our country and it says a lot about South Carolina that they chose me and then elected me to be their senator,” Scott continued.
“I like talking about the evolution of the southern heart. Because the state I live in is not the state that my grandfather was born in” or his mother, Scott continued. “Even though both are called ‘South Carolina,” this South Carolina is different. We have evolved so much in so little time, that access to real opportunity — being judged by your character and not your color — is my reality.”
Scott acknowledged that he can have conversations about race but that he would rather just be “one of 100” senators and talk mostly about the issues facing the country and his state.
The South Carolina Republican went on to address Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin’s unexpected victory last week as a model for the party moving forward.
“Politics is a game of addition. That talking about education is something that we as Republicans should always focus on,” he said, a likely reference to the widespread belief that Youngkin won, in part, by campaigning on supporting parental involvement in public school issues involving their children, whereas his Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, claimed parents should have no say in school curriculum.
Youngkin ran on “issues that resonate with the average person in this country,” Scott added.
“If we are to win in 2o22 and beyond, we’re gonna have to just talk plain English to our folks. And when we do, when we champion the causes that they believe in the most, we’re gonna be okay,” he said.
“I honestly think that America is hungry for some good news,” he continued, reflecting on his April rebuttal to President Biden’s State of the Union Address in which he discounted Democrat claims that the country is ‘systemically racist.’
“I think America is hungry to hear the truth, that while we have an original sin [of slavery], we are not a racist country,” he added. “Fighting discrimination with discrimination is wrong. … I think just sharing the truth of who we are and the progress we’ve made, and the hurdles that remain, I think it was at the right time.”
[email protected]
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Originally from Indiana, she now calls sunny Florida her home.
- TIPP Insights: Mr. President, support labor and business - May 8, 2022
- DeSantis directs businesses, state law enforcement to openly defy Biden - December 14, 2021
- Country launches AI facial-recognition surveillance to track people positive for COVID-19 - December 14, 2021
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.