Presidential hopeful Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) blasted hosts on “The View” for their claims about race, which Scott called “dangerous, disgusting, [and] offensive.”
During a June 5 appearance on the show, Scott got into a heated exchange with co-host Sunny Hostin about the progress made by black Americans over the past several decades. He accused the hosts of pushing an ideology of victimization on black Americans that doesn’t correspond with reality.
“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,” Scott said.
“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,” Scott began.
Hostin interjected, “But it is.”
Scott shot back, “but it’s not,” citing examples of figures like former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.
“My momma worked 16-hour days as a nurse’s aide—changing bedpans and rolling patients,” he said. “It was hard work. It was not glamorous.
“Those 16-hour days put food on our table. And kept our lights on. They empowered her to move her boys out of a place filled with anger into a home full of love.
“My mom’s work ethic taught me there is dignity in all work.”
But the feud with “The View” hosts is not the only time that Scott, a black man, has been accused of failing to understand the plight of black people in the United States.
In May, Joy Behar, a white woman who hosts The View, accused Scott of not “understanding the systemic racism that African Americans face in this country.
“He doesn’t get it. Neither does Clarence [Thomas]. That’s why they’re Republicans,” Behar said.
Defending DeSantis
Scott also faced boos from the studio audience after he defended his rival for the GOP nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in his fight with Disney.DeSantis has waged a veritable crusade against the company since it announced its opposition to a GOP bill to ban discussions of sex and gender with children under the age of 10 years old in public school classrooms, a bill dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by its opponents despite no overt reference to any specific sexual or gender orientation.
“Disney and Ron have been in a combat zone over what I thought is the right issue, which is our young kids and what they are being indoctrinated with,” Scott said.
He was met with jeers and boos, prompting co-host Whoopi Goldberg to apologize and scold the audience, “Do not boo; this is ‘The View.’
“We don’t have to believe everything people say, but you cannot boo people here, please.”
Scott has leaned heavily on his own background in his bid for the White House in 2024, hoping to push a campaign message that emphasizes optimism in the future and personal responsibility.
Scott is currently the only black Republican in the Senate and one of only four black Republicans to ever serve in the post. Two of the others were elected shortly after the Civil War prior to the end of Reconstruction and the start of Jim Crow, while the last left office in 1979.
