Senator and candidate for the Republican presidential primaries Tim Scott responded to Whoopi Goldberg who criticized him for saying that "my life disproves the lies of the radical left." The actress previously accused the politician of having "Clarence Thomas syndrome," for his unwillingness to develop specific programs to benefit the Black community and to use the word "victimhood" as a "dog whistle."
ABC's The View was going over Scott's candidacy announcement and Goldberg criticized the senator, accusing him of not doing enough for Blacks and of using a discourse that denies the "systemic racism" suffered by members of this community. She acknowledged, however, that the conservative lawmaker has done "some good stuff," but must do more to become president.
If you’re running for president, you got to do more than that. You have to represent us as a nation and then say, ‘And as a Black man this is also how I feel,’ but you can’t pretend that it’s not there, that it’s not an issue for the people you’re running – for the party you’re running for. They are, in part, the problem.
"Victim or Victory - Gravity or Greatness?"
During his campaign launch, Scott used two messages that particularly stung the female talk show hostesses of The View: "Victim or victory? Gravity or greatness? I choose freedom and hope and opportunity," the senator stressed. Goldberg and company accused him of thinking that his life was that of any Black man in America. "One of the issues that Tim Scott has is that he seems to think. 'Because I made it, everybody can make it.' Ignoring, again, the fact that he is the exception and not the rule," said Sunny Hostin.
FIGHTING BACK: Presidential candidate @SenatorTimScott hits back at his critics' racially charged attacks.https://t.co/XF1XpmreWr pic.twitter.com/qpf2WcMw5t
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 23, 2023
"You can be bitter or better"
The GOP lawmaker began by responding in statements to Fox News: "No question my life disproves the lies of the radical left," before saying that the "culture of victimhood is eating away at the soul of America." Scott also referred to the teachings of his grandfather, a cotton picker, when dealing with the struggles of life: "You can be bitter or better, but you can't be both." He stated:
We have to ignore the far left by disproving their lies by our actions. Here's the funny thing: The host, Sunny, she wants to be judged by the content of her character, not the color of her skin. The fact of the matter is America is a story of evolution – a never told story of evolution in too many of our schools that are indoctrinating our kids instead of educating our kids.
"I say no on my watch. We are going to tell the whole story of America's rising," he declared. In addition, Scott stressed that his life "is the rule, not the exception," since all American parents, regardless of race, "can choose" where they want to send their children to school. In addition, he said that many of the failures of public schools are caused by left-wing teachers' unions and their sectarian teachings.
