In a dose of inspiration for a Monday, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) gave his maiden speech on the Senate floor, revealing just how much failure he has overcome in his life — academic failure, that is.
Scott admitted during his speech that he “drifted” in high school, failing world geography, civics, Spanish and English during his freshman year.
“I think I’m the only United States Senator to ever fail civics,” he joked.
“Mr. President, when you fail Spanish and English, they don’t call you bilingual, sir,” Scott added. “They do not. They call you bi-ignant, because you can’t speak in any language.”
Scott credited his mother and his mentor, John Moniz, for helping him succeed in school and life. And while his rhetoric wasn’t new — Scott has used much of this material before during previous speeches — the location was.
The first African-American Republican in more than three decades has ‘arrived’ and he proved it today on the Senate floor.
Following his speech, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) both took the floor and praised Scott.
The South Carolina Republican took the Senate seat of Jim DeMint, who left Congress to head up The Heritage Foundation. Fellow Republican Gov. Nikki Haley picked Scott to fill DeMint’s seat back in December.
