CHARLESTON, South Carolina — Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) urged the country to celebrate the progress that has been made in a Black History Month address that doubled as the launch of a national listening tour, perceived as the tentative first steps toward a presidential campaign.
“The story of America is not defined by our original sin. The story of America is defined by our redemption,” he told the Charleston County GOP at The Citadel in South Carolina. “I’m proud, proud to be an American.”
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Scott, 57, underscored Charleston’s role at the start of the Civil War to frame his Black History Month-focused remarks. At the same time, the two-term senator defended retelling his “cotton to Congress” personal story, contending it creates “connective tissue” with others as he discusses difficult issues with them.
Scott recalled his childhood growing up in a single-mother household and how he almost failed high school, adamant “a good education is the closest thing to magic in America” as he touted his “opportunity agenda” to the crowd. Thursday’s listening tour launch, however, did not include any questions from the audience.
“There is a way for us to unify this country around basic principles,” he said. “The future is incredibly bright. We will make another American century with the right policies.”
While emphasizing his conservative positions on abortion access, parental rights, and policing, he condemned the hyperpartisanship of politics.
“I understand being treated as a second-class citizen because of the color of my skin. I refuse, I refuse to be treated as a second-class citizen because of the color of my party,” he said. “Red and blue is the new black and white.”
Scott earlier riffed about the biblical story of Joseph after a Citadel student referenced it during his introductory speech, leaving the lectern to weave around dinner tables. He also told local reporters that “we’ll take our time” considering his presidential aspirations.
Scott’s address at the dinner was scheduled one day after former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley announced her own presidential bid in the city this week. The pair, with Haley appointing Scott to the Senate in 2013 when she was South Carolina’s two-term GOP governor, is poised to appear alongside one another at the Palmetto Family Council’s “Vision ‘24” forum next month.
Haley echoed Scott’s sentiment about race during her own campaign launch as she seeks to amplify how she is the daughter of Indian immigrants.
“We’re told America is flawed, rotten, and full of hate. Joe and Kamala even say America is racist,” she said, referring to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. “Take it from the first minority female governor in history: America is not a racist country.”
Scott, whose Tomorrow Is Meaningful leadership political action committee still has almost $22 million cash on hand from his reelection last year, often does not register when survey respondents are asked about their preferred nominee. He did notch 1% support among Republican voters in a Quinnipiac University poll published this week.
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Scott returns to Des Moines, Iowa, next week for a faith-based event hosted by an aligned 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, the Opportunity Matters Network. The senator has traveled to the first-in-the-nation state multiple times during the last two years for Republican Party fundraisers and speaking gigs. He was additionally tapped to deliver prime-time remarks during the 2020 Republican National Convention.
