Partisan Reactions Follow Sen. Tim Scott’s Rebuttal To Biden Speech As He Claims ‘America Is Not Racist’ - Forbes

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Topline

Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-S.C.) rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s speech to Congress was met with mixed reactions with some commentators expressing dismay at his insistence that “America is not a racist country.”

Key Facts

Scott—the only Black Republican serving in the Senate—accused Democrats of dividing the country by wielding race as “a political weapon.”

Several commentators highlighted the inherent contradiction in Scott’s claim that America is not a racist country which he said after speaking about his own experience of being unfairly discriminated against by police and facing racial slurs from liberals.

On MSNBC, political commentator Joy Ann-Reid expressed disappointment in Scott’s speech noting he failed to speak about his work on the George Floyd Act and called his speech “standard Republican pabulum” which could have been delivered by Sens. Tom Cotton or Mike Lee.

On CNN, commentator Van Jones expressed dismay about Scott’s speech and said he lost a lot of African-Americans “by the tens of millions” when he said that America was not racist.

Scott’s speech, however, won praise on Fox News with anchor Martha MacCallum saying that the senator resonates with people because he is sincere and “that comes through.”

Scott’s speech also won the approval of fellow South Carolinian Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) who tweeted a video saying he has “never been more proud” of Scott who “did an outstanding job” in representing the conservative point of view of their state.

Responding to Scott’s speech on ABC’s Good Morning America on Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris said she doesn’t believe America is a racist country, but noted: “we also do have to speak truth about racism in this country, and its existence today.”

Crucial Quote

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also hailed the rebuttal speech, tweeting: “I am so glad the nation heard Senator Tim Scott’s outstanding Republican response to President Biden’s address. Republicans stand for the principles and policies that unite Americans and expand opportunity for working families. Not radical agendas designed to push us apart.”

Chief Critic

American civil rights leader and political activist Rev. Jesse Jackson criticized the Republican party after Scott’s rebuttal speech, tweeting: ”The R[epublican]s putting Scott behind Biden tonight was disgraceful & embarrassing. R[epublican]s applaud Scott & boo Colin Powell. It's the cruelest manipulation of a politician I've seen. Scott's logic was weak & sick. Again, R[epublican]s try to make Clarence Thomas & Thurgood Marshall interchangeable.”

Key Background

While delivering the Republican party’s official rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s maiden address to Congress, Scott accused Biden and the Democrats of pulling Americans further apart with their actions and policy. Scott also gave credit to this party for what he said was leading the country out of the deadly pandemic and towards a hopeful future. He belittled Biden’s key policies as wasteful expansions of big government and accused the Democrats of “throwing money at certain issues because they think they know what is best”. Scott also spoke about his rise from a low-income family and personal stories about being repeatedly being pulled over by police while driving, but he insisted that America was not a racist country.