Barack Obama slams Tim Scott for not having a plan for tackling poverty caused by racism
America’s first black president took aim at black Republican Senator Tim Scott for saying his party was “making fantastic progress.”
Scott launched his presidential candidate on an optimistic platform last month and has put his own struggle story at the center of his campaign, with a philosophy that suggests anyone can succeed if they choose.
But former President Barack Obama said in a podcast released Thursday that it was time for the Republican Party to really appreciate how systemic racism has shaped the nation’s history.
And so if a Republican who might even say honestly, “I want us all to live together” has no plan on how to address the crippling generational poverty that has resulted from hundreds of years of racism in this society and we need to do something about it …,” Obama told the Ax Files, hosted by his former adviser David Axelrod.
“If someone doesn’t propose, both acknowledging and suggesting elements that say, ‘No, we can’t just ignore that and pretend everything’s even and fair. We really need to walk the walk and not just talk.’
Former President Barack Obama (l) said in a podcast that the Republican Party should consider the nation’s history on race, targeting 2024 Sen. Tim Scott in particular
“If they don’t, then I think people are right to be skeptical.”
Scott, the first black Republican from the South elected to the Senate since Reconstruction, recently took his campaign to daytime television.
He demanded a chance to respond after Joy Behar, a host of The View, said he “didn’t get it” about systemic racism.
When he appeared on the show last week, he even cited Obama as an example of how African Americans could succeed.
“The fact is, we’ve had an African American president, an African American vice president, we’ve had two African Americans as secretary of state,” he said.
“In my hometown, the police chief is an African American who is now running for mayor.”
In response, Obama said Republicans should be honest.
“I’m not cynical about Tim Scott individually,” he said. “I might suggest that the rhetoric of ‘don’t we all get along?’ … that must be substantiated with an honest account of our past and present.’
Obama also said there was an opening within the Republican Party for a platform beyond Donald Trump’s grievances.
Obama also said the GOP should move forward with Donald Trump’s populist grievances
Senator Tim Scott appeared on The View, when co-host Joy Behar said that as a black Republican he doesn’t understand race issues in the US
“What we’ve seen is a Republican party that has embraced a cultural populism, the kind of populism we talked about earlier, resentment, anger, exploiting people’s sense that there’s no manipulation, but what you don’t see is the Republican Party. Embracing parties… they still have a very elitist economic agenda with a cultural overlay,” he said.
“I think there’s an opening for a smart Republican to talk about economic issues and say, ‘You know what, I wouldn’t mind people who are doing really well paying a little bit more in taxes.'”
Scott has repeatedly defended the Republicans’ record on race, arguing that his success is not an exception, but a path available to all.
His most high-profile defense came on The View last week.
“One of the reasons I’m on the show is because of the comments that, frankly, were made on the show — that the only way for a young African-American boy to be successful in this country is to be the exception.” are and not the rule,” Scott said.
“That’s a dangerous, abusive, abhorrent message we need to send to our young people today – that the only way to succeed is to be the exception.”
He noted the tremendous strides African Americans have made in his lifetime alone and noted the successful people in power he knows today – he added former President Barack Obama and current Vice President Kamala Harris to that list .
But he missed the chance to face Behar. He appeared on the show last Monday, her regular day off.