Tim Scott hits back at Obama for attacks on GOP – and insists ‘America is NOT a racist country’

Senator Tim Scott responded to Barack Obama’s attacks on him by claiming that this is evidence that Democrats are “threatened” by his candidacy in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

The leading contender only garners about 3 percent in the polls, but faces an onslaught from Democrats who claim he doesn’t understand America’s race issues like a black Republican.

“There is no greater compliment than being attacked by President Obama,” Scott told Fox News on Sunday. “Whenever the Democrats feel threatened, they back down — drag the former president out and have him make some negative comments about someone who’s on the run, hoping their numbers drop.”

The first black president accused presidential candidates Scott and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley of participating in a “long history” of Republican minorities downplaying racism.

Scott is the only black Republican in the U.S. Senate, and Haley is the first ever Native American to hold office in South Carolina and serve in a presidential cabinet as ex-President Trump’s U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Obama disagreed with Scott who said Republicans are “doing a fantastic job of making progress” on race issues.

“If a Republican, who may say sincerely, ‘I want us all to live together,’ has no plan to tackle crippling generational poverty, it is a result of 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.

Scott also took the head off The View host Joy Behar, who claimed he didn’t understand systemic racism. Demanding a chance to respond, he appeared on the show last week.

During the roundtable discussion where he overheard attacks from the liberal co-hosts, Scott even cited Obama as an example of how African Americans are set up to 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.”

He said black people have equal opportunities with Americans of all other races.

In response, Obama said Republicans need to be honest about racism.

“I’m not cynical about Tim Scott individually,” the former president 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.’

Scott doubled down on his claims during his Fox News Sunday interview.

“Here’s what people need to know: The truth about my life disproves the lies of the radical left,” he said.

“There’s a way for us to increase poverty — not through race, but through the statistics themselves,” Scott explains. “That’s what America stands for.”

“If anyone had to stand on the mountaintops shouting that America is not a racist country, it should be the man Americans supported twice for the nomination and the presidency.”

“America’s evolution is palpable. Progress in this country, undeniable.’

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 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.

“If someone doesn’t propose, both acknowledging and suggesting elements that say, ‘No, we can’t just ignore that and pretend everything is equal and fair.’ We should actually walk and not just talk.’

“If they don’t, then I think people are right to be skeptical.”

Scott responded to his comments late Thursday, but did not attack Obama by name.

Let’s not forget that we are a land of opportunity, not a land of oppression. Democrats are denying our progress to protect their power,” he said.

The left wants you to believe that faith in America is a hoax and progress in our country is a myth. The truth of my life refutes the lies of the radical left.

“We live in a country where little black and brown boys and girls can be presidents of the United States. The truth is – we’ve had one and the good news is – we’ll have another.”

Scott, the first black Republican from the South elected to the Senate since Reconstruction, recently took his campaign to daytime television.

Obama said on the podcast that there is an opening in the Republican Party for a platform that went beyond Donald Trump’s grievances.

“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 savvy 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.