For South Carolina senator and presidential candidate Tim Scott, chatty daytime talk show “The View” seems like an unlikely platform to gain a foothold with Republican primary voters. Maybe, but he saw an opportunity on Monday and tried to make it. Most of them.
Scott, the first black Republican elected to the Senate since the recovery, asked to watch the show after co-host Joy Behar’s remarks, Scott said. “I do not understand” She said that’s why he’s a Republican when he denies the existence of systemic racism.
In front of a mostly white partisan crowd in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, Mr. Scott promised his appearance would be a spark, but the conversation between the senators and co-hosts ended up being mostly non-existent. I didn’t.
To suggest that Black experts and leaders are the exception, not the rule, to the Black experience, he said, is “a dangerous, offensive and offensive message to send to today’s youth.”
“We actually had an African-American president, an African-American vice president, and two African-American secretaries of state,” Scott said. “In my home city, the chief of police is an African-American who is currently running for mayor.”
At one point, he defended Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in his fight against Disney, saying that a bill restricting teachers’ ability to speak out about gender and sexuality in the classroom was “the right thing to do about young children and their existence.” ‘ said. is taught. “
The comment was booed by the studio audience. Another co-host, Whoopi Goldberg, loudly reprimanded the audience that they “don’t boo” on “The View.”
Among the candidates running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination are Scott and Larry Elder A black conservative commentator and two Indian-American immigrant children, Nikki Haley Former Governor of South Carolina and Ambassador to the United Nations, and Vivek Ramaswamy Entrepreneur and author.
all four entered A personal story of loneliness and conflict Family stories about discrimination and racism are a relic of the past, and although they don’t reflect certain prejudices that are still ingrained in American society, they are central to the campaign.
On “The View,” Scott recounted his grandfather, who had to walk off the sidewalk to pass white pedestrians in the small town of Surrey, South Carolina, because he couldn’t make eye contact.
“American progress is clear,” he said. “It can be measured in generations.”
Such stories are well received by the predominantly white audiences addressed by Republican presidential candidates during the primary season. But on “The View,” the liberal host protested. Co-host Sonny Hostin, who is black, said she, like Scott and the show’s most famous co-host Whoopi Goldberg, was an exception when it comes to black achievements.
“When it comes to racial inequality, it persists in five major aspects of American life: the economy, education, health care, criminal justice, and housing,” she says. “These achievements have almost always been contested, threatened and erased by white violence.”
For Republican candidates, such appearances have multiple benefits. They can use these to reach audiences beyond the Republican base and signal their willingness to get out of the primary district bubble. That way, you can stand before Republican voters, just as Donald J. Trump did at the CNN Town Hall last month, and Ramaswamy when he announced his appearance on CNN to a Republican audience. Can amplify jousting. Anchor Don Lemon’s job took its toll.
