Senator Tim Scott, the only black Republican senator, announced a presidential run on Monday, accusing President Joe Biden of “leading the nation into retreat.”
He made the announcement in front of hundreds of supporters in North Charleston, South Carolina, delivering his signature message of hope, barbed with attacks on Biden and leaders who undermine what he sees as American values.
“Joe Biden and the radical left are attacking every rung of the ladder that helped me climb,” he said in a speech that led his own story of a harsh upbringing through a conventional conservative manifesto.
“And that is why I am announcing today that I am running for President of the United States of America.
“They are attacking our American values; our schools; our economy; our safety. But not on my watch.’
Senator Tim Scott, the only black Republican senator, announced a presidential run on Monday, accusing President Joe Biden of “leading the nation to retreat”
He introduced his mother to the hundreds of people before the formal part of his speech, thanking her for making him the man he is today.
He made the announcement in his hometown, where he was raised by a single mother and his grandparents, days after he officially filed his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.
He invited his mother Frances on stage to introduce her to the audience.
“Thank you for your hard work and dedication,” he said. “Thanks for believing in me when no one else did.”
And he could count on heavyweight support in the crowd of about 500 in the Charleston Southern University basketball area. Senator John Thune, the number two Republican in the Senate, opened the program with a prayer.
“Tim Scott is the real deal,” he said. “And he’ll make a great president of the United States.”
And former governor Mark Sanford attended, even though he declined to offer a statement of support.
Scott used his own story, of parents who divorced when he was seven, and a mother who worked 16-hour days to keep food on the table, to attack Biden and what he sees as a nation turning away from American values.
He promised to rebuild every rung of the ladder that lifted him up.
Scott is an outsider among the Republicans who have declared or are expected to declare a run. But he is a formidable fundraiser and has a strong base in the key state of South Carolina
Scott launched his campaign in his hometown of North Charleston, on the campus of Charleston Southern University
Hundreds of supporters crowded the stands and field of a basketball arena
“But under President Biden, our country is moving away from work and dignity,” he said.
‘Millions and millions of people have completely disappeared from the labor market.
“And the share of working-age men choosing to work has been the lowest ever.”
Scott catapults himself into a race already dominated by two massive figures.
Donald Trump has made the most of his early entry into the race and is the clear front-runner.
Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to announce his candidacy later this week.
That leaves Scott to deliver a different message to the two frontrunners, electrifying their supporters and alienating swing voters in equal measure with their rants about the culture war.
Whether that resonates with Republicans, who seem hungry for a bitter row with Democrats who continue to call for Trump to be prosecuted, remains to be seen.
One of his strengths is his base in South Carolina, the kind of early state primary that can propel an outsider to prominence.
And he is known as a formidable fundraiser. He can count billionaire Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, who was in the crowd Monday, among his high-profile backers.
His supporters believe the time is right to move on from the bitter mudslinging of the Trump years.
“I think for too long the party has been very focused on sort of all the dark sides – for the past six, seven years – of what is happening in America, said John Perez, who works in fintech, “and not really looking at the good things America brings to the table. I think the senator emphasizes that very well with his personal life story.
He traveled from Virginia Beach for the launch and said he saw the nomination as a three-way race between Trump, DeSantis and Scott. And Scott could win by maximizing the breadth of his support.
“I don’t see anyone else who can access the full range,” he said. “If you look at his support from the most moderate moderate to the most conservative conservative support, you can’t say that for any other candidate.”
While Scott didn’t shy away from his main rivals, he left supporters a clear message about the choice they face.
“Our party and our nation are at a time to choose,” he said.
Victim or victory? Complaint or greatness?
“I choose freedom and hope and opportunity.”