"I am living proof that America is the land of opportunity, not of oppression," Tim Scott assured in an emotional speech in which he announced his candidacy for the 2022 election at Charleston Southern University.
The South Carolina lawmaker's desire to clinch the GOP nomination was not a surprise, as he had filed the necessary paperwork with the Federal Election Commission last week.
The Republican Party's only black representative with a seat will try to shake up a primary dominated by Donald Trump, and a long list of other candidates. In principle, it seems that he will have a difficult time: only 2% of Republicans see him as a possibility and his national recognition is even lower, as we explained in Voz Media.
North Charleston, y’all sound READY. pic.twitter.com/er7yFajjmX
— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) May 22, 2023
"Faith in America"
The path that may lead Scott to the presidency began with a prayer. Leading the prayer was his Senate colleague John Thune, a representative from South Dakota.
During his speech, the presidential candidate presented himself as a living example that it is possible "for a broken kid, in a broken home, to rise beyond their circumstances." He continued: "For those of you who wonder if America is a racist country, take a look at how people come together," he then said, pointing to his mother, who is black, and his childhood mentor, who is white, hugging each other in the crowd.
All of God’s people come together ... working together. Because love, unconditional love, binds hearts together. We are not defined by the color of our skin. We are defined by the content of our character. And if anyone tells you anything different, they’re lying.
Scott introduced himself as a candidate from humble beginnings, who grew up in a single-parent home in a small apartment. He assured that the United States is the "greatest nation on God's green earth" because someone with his story can achieve a seat in Congress and, perhaps, even occupy the White House.
My family went from cotton to Congress in his lifetime [in reference to his grandfather, who worked picking cotton]. It was only possible because my grandfather ... looked beyond the pain of his present, and he saw the promise of his future. That black man, who struggled through the Jim Crow South, believed then what some doubt now: in the goodness of America.
Shots against Biden
Scott criticized the Democratic president several times during his speech. He took aim at him by pointing out that patriotism is seeing a free fall in the country and that the percentage of working-age people who choose to seek employment is the lowest in history.
He also criticized him for wanting "waitress and mechanics pay for the student loans of lawyers and doctors making six figures." Among the reproaches to the current administration, he also listed inflation, the deterioration in education and the increase in insecurity.
Under Biden, the country had become "a nation in retreat (...) retreating from our heritage and history." From personal responsibility and hard work, from strength and security, from religious freedom and "the worship of God himself."
The lawmaker did not dedicate any words to Trump, nor to any of his rivals in the Republican primaries.
When I am president...
Scott assured that on his first day in the Oval Office, he would take measures on immigration to secure the southern border. These would include fighting drug cartels with the Armed Forces and cracking down on Chinese laboratories that produce materials used to make fentanyl.
He also pledged to strengthen U.S. military capabilities to defend against enemy countries, especially China. He blamed China for starting the current "Cold War," and he affirmed that he will end it if elected president.
"We will not try to be the world's police," he also assured regarding his international agenda. But, he said, he will defend the country's interests both at home and abroad.
