“Uncle Tim” trended on Twitter after Sen. Tim Scott delivered a Republican rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s address to Congress.
“Twitter is still out here going out of its way to make racist attacks against GOP Sen. Tim Scott go viral. Apparently they want him to suffer for the crime of upstaging Biden via a highly effective speech. Disgusting,” the Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway tweeted of the trend.
Twitter is still out here going out of its way to make racist attacks against GOP Sen. Tim Scott go viral. Apparently they want him to suffer for the crime of upstaging Biden via a highly effective speech. Disgusting. pic.twitter.com/zwXYyowdIX
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) April 29, 2021
The slur, which plays off of the derogatory phrase “Uncle Tom,” was used by a surge of liberals on the platform Wednesday night to describe Scott and his speech declaring the United States is not a racist country.
TIM SCOTT SAYS ‘AMERICA IS NOT A RACIST COUNTRY’ IN REBUTTAL OF BIDEN SPEECH
“Tim Scott gets called Uncle Tom by progressives. But he’s an Uncle Tim,” former MSNBC host Toure Neblett tweeted.
Tim Scott gets called Uncle Tom by progressives. But he’s an Uncle Tim.
— Young Daddy (@Toure) April 29, 2021
In my defense I actually said “Uncle TIM.”
And he was talking about his nephews!
— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) April 29, 2021
Uncle Tim
— Luther Luke Campbell (@unclelukereal1) April 29, 2021
Hello UNCLE Tim Scott. pic.twitter.com/g5fNvAuCsn
— Mr. Vegas (@MrVegasMusic) April 29, 2021
cc: @SenatorTimScott
See black Americans you just aren’t working hard enough in this great country. Stop blaming the racism (which is woven into the fabric of this nation your ancestors built) for why you aren’t successful like good ol’ Uncle Tim! https://t.co/HY3BdA9Fun
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) April 29, 2021
One social media commenter, TV personality Scott Nevins, also referred to Scott as an “Uncle Tim” but later deleted the “ironic joke” and apologized.
Tonight I tried to do an ironic joke about Sen Tim Scott using the term “Uncle Tom” in his rebuttal. While I was shocked by his lack of self awareness, I should not have used that term myself, even in reference. That was not right. I apologize.
— Scott Nevins (@ScottNevins) April 29, 2021
“I can confirm that we are blocking the phrase you referenced from appearing in Trends. This is in line with our policies on Trends,” a Twitter spokesperson told the Washington Examiner of the trending phrase.
“We want Trends to promote healthy conversations on Twitter. This means that at times, we may not allow or may temporarily prevent content from appearing in Trends until more context is available. This includes Trends that violate The Twitter Rules.“
In his speech, Scott said, “Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country,” and he spoke in defense of Georgia’s election integrity law, which has been panned by liberals as disenfranchising black voters.
“I’m an African American who has voted in the South all my life,” Scott said. “I take voting rights personally. Republicans support making it easier to vote and harder to cheat.”
“And so do voters,” he added. “Big majorities of Americans support early voting, and big majorities support voter ID, including African Americans and Hispanics. Commonsense makes common ground. But today, this conversation has collapsed.”
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Scott addressed the trending phrase on Thursday morning during a Fox News interview, and said it was “upsetting” and “disappointing.”
“It was upsetting certainly, but it was so disappointing that those people who want to be respected and given the opportunity to live their lives any way they want to, they don’t want the same thing for you and me, Steve. What they want for us is for us to stay in a little, small corner and not go against the tide that they think is America. Their America and my America aren’t the same America, if, in fact, they think that discriminating is the fastest way to end discrimination,” he said.
