Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) criticized President Joe Biden’s approach to race and racial justice in response to Biden campaign ads targeting former President Donald Trump.
Scott, the lone black Republican in the U.S. Senate and a candidate for Trump’s vice president, argued that a second Trump term would benefit the black community by addressing jobs and justice issues.
“If you’re genuinely concerned about racial justice in America, remember Joe Biden referred to racial jungles as a consequence of desegregation,” Scott stated on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “Don’t forget that Joe Biden is the president who said if you don’t vote for him, ‘you ain’t black.’”
Scott continued, “This is the president who claimed the Republican Party wants to ‘put you back in chains.’ The only person I’ve seen holding black people back economically is Joe Biden with his economy. So I find it quite insulting to suggest that Joe Biden doesn’t have significant concerns.”
Scott criticized Biden’s opposition to charter schools in cities like Chicago, saying it effectively “resegregates schools in America.”
“We need another four years of common sense under Donald Trump, not another term of segregation under Joe Biden, who prevents poor black children from attending any school in their cities,” Scott declared.
When asked for further explanation, Scott reiterated his stance, asserting, “Schools in our largest cities are becoming resegregated.”
“Joe Biden’s Department of Education has stopped the expansion of charter schools that offer greater diversity and opportunities,” Scott said. “In Chicago today, more black kids are prevented from attending public schools in their city. The president of the United States refuses to challenge the teachers’ unions, jeopardizing the future of these kids.”
Scott emphasized, “The closest thing to magic in America is a good education, and you won’t find that in blue cities dominated by monopolistic city councils that deny poor, often black kids, access to public schools within their same cities.”
One of the two ads launched by the Biden campaign last week criticized Trump’s record on race, portraying the former president as “disrespecting” black people by “standing with violent white supremacists and warning of a bloodbath if he loses the next election.” The ads are part of the campaign’s May initiative to “increase investments to support ongoing efforts to engage voters critical to this election,” according to the campaign.
Trump is working to diminish Biden’s support among black voters, a crucial part of the Democratic coalition.
Trump holds a 1 percentage point advantage over Biden, according to RealClearPolitics.
