Tim Scott Declared 'America Is Not A Racist Country' In RNC Speech. Other Speakers Suggest Otherwise.
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Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said that “America is not a racist country” at the Republican National Convention on Monday, in seeming disregard of sentiments made by other speakers and uttered by Trump in the past.
“America, we deserve better. We deserve so much better,” Scott said, adding, “I know this is going to offend the liberal elites: America is not a racist country.”
His remark was met with applause.
“But if you are looking for racism today, you’d find it in cities run by Democrats. Look on the South Side of Chicago. Poor Black kids, trapped in failing schools. Thousands shot every single year, including one of my former interns, DaQuawn [Bruce],” Scott continued. (Bruce was shot by a stray bullet in 2018.)
“But there’s good news,” he added. “It’s conservative values that restores hope.”
Throughout the RNC, meanwhile, multiple speakers referred to immigrants as “aliens” or “illegals.”
Rep. John James (R-Mich.), who is Black, did just that during his speech at the convention, saying, “Hope is not a plan. Black people were sold on hope. Now our streets are rife with crime, kids can’t read and illegals are getting better help from Democrats in four days than we’ve gotten in 400 years.”
Racist remarks and rhetoric shared by Trump both prior to and throughout his rise as a politician have been documented, including advocating for the use of the death penalty against the five Black and Latino teenagers wrongly convicted in the Central Park Five case, pushing the lie that former President Barack Obama was born outside of the U.S. and making racist statements against Black prosecutors.
Scott has previously overlooked racism from his fellow Republicans. Recently, he defended Trump’s use of the term “Black jobs” during the June presidential debate. Scott, among others, was reportedly considered for Trump’s vice presidential running mate. However, Trump announced Monday that Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) was his official pick.
