After U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) officially announced his candidacy in the 2024 Republican presidential primary race last month, leftist pundits were quick to bombard him with insults.
One of the most egregious examples came during a segment of ABC’s “The View” when co-host Joy Behar — a White woman — insinuated that she was more in tune with what it means to be a Black man than Scott, who is Black.
“He’s one of these guys, like [U.S. Supreme Court Justice] Clarence Thomas, Black Republican, who believes in pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, rather than understanding the systemic racism that African Americans face in this country and other minorities,” she said. “He doesn’t get it. Neither does Clarence. That’s why they’re Republicans.”
Scott responded in a scathing critique during a subsequent radio interview.
So @SenatorTimScott just eviscerated @JoyBehar on @clayandbuck for her comments: “There’s no doubt a white lady dressing up in black face to give a black man advice probably doesn’t ring true.” There’s much more. Enjoy: pic.twitter.com/c4uk4tleyk
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) May 30, 2023
The South Carolina Republican was a guest on “The View” this week, but Behar was notably absent from the panel. That did not prevent him from weighing in on the controversial statements she and other co-hosts made in the earlier show.
Sunny Hostin began the conversation by asserting that she and Scott “have some things in common,” including growing up in less-than-ideal circumstances. She went on to claim that both of them are “the exception” and not “the rule” in relation to the overall Black population.
Hostin ended her lengthy introduction by asking Scott to define “systemic racism,” that is, if he even believes it exists.
“Let me answer the question this way,” he 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.”
Hostin cut him off in the middle of a thought, but he picked his argument back up and asserted that America has now had a Black president, vice president, and two secretaries of state.
“In my home city, the police chief is an African-American who’s now running for mayor,” Scott added. “The head of the Highway Patrol for South Carolina is an African-American.”
