Today, the focus is on Sen. Tim Scott's Trump endorsement. As I noted last week, most of the media is falling all over themselves over how big a deal it is. Now, you can read it for yourself. My comments are interspersed throughout the post.
Scott sat down with Dana Bash in the State of the Union classroom, where the first question was why Trump, why not Haley?
It comes right down to, what does America need for the next president? It would be four more years of Donald Trump. And why do I say that? I say that because I worked with President Trump on really important issues impacting American voters and American families. We worked together. I helped write the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, the largest tax decrease in American history.
I hope Scott remembers that many of the most impactful provisions of the bill he wrote are set to expire next year.
Think about uniting this country. He gave the highest level of funding for historically black colleges and universities in the history of the country. We had the most inclusive economy, seven million new jobs, the lowest unemployment rates for African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, a 70-year low for women, and a 50-year low for the majority of the population,... during the Trump years.
A couple things: in some GOP circles, providing historic HBCUs funding is likely considered "woke," not a sign of unity; unemployment rates dipped even lower during Biden's term, and are fairly consistent with Trump's pre-COVID numbers; and while we know that presidents don't 'create' jobs, Biden has 'created' nearly twice as many as Trump.
We had a stronger economy, a healthy military, and a safer world. When I compare and contrast, the only, the only conclusion is Donald Trump.
Scott said he and Haley exchanged texts "several times" since he got out of the race, and he expanded upon his thinking in endorsing Trump.
I'm not asking a question about who's from my home state. I'm not asking a question who would be -- is a good person or a better person. I think President Donald Trump is a strong president, will be a strong president again, and will have the kind of accomplishments that will unite this nation around economic opportunity.
If he's not looking for a "good person," he's found his man.
Bash talked about Scott's "a very positive, very hopeful campaign." She played a video clip of Scott asking a crowd, "Victimhood or victory? Grievance or greatness?" and said it sounded like he was talking about Trump.
No, listen, I -- we absolutely, positively, unequivocally need an America that's not filled with victims.
Trump is the victim-in-chief, for Pete's sake. So, if not Trump, who was Scott talking about?
I'm actually talking about how Joe Biden has destroyed our economy and made victims out of people waiting for the government to show up. I'm talking about having a president who's weaponizing the DOJ against political adversaries. We need Lady Justice wearing a blindfold. I want America, every single American in every corridor of this nation to have confidence in their DOJ, not a Biden-led DOJ.
Has he not been paying attention? Has he never heard of Bill Barr?
I want every child growing up in poverty, like I did, to have access to quality education. Unfortunately, the Democrats have sold their souls to the teachers' unions, trapping poor black kids in inner cities into failing schools and out of their best future. I want a nation where every child looks into the future and says, the American dream works for me. I was that kid.
And so when I think about bringing this country together, not under grievance, but over greatness, not being victims, but being victorious, I am talking about the future of this nation... and politicians who get in the way of that.
Bash asked if he doesn't "see any grievance in Donald Trump's campaign for president?"
Well, here's what I can tell you. And for a person who's seen the DOJ weaponized against him, for a person who, before he was ever sworn into office, "The Washington Post" said they were going to make sure that he is a one-term president, when you look at the challenges he faced, there's no doubt that he has been aggrieved.
I think Scott's confused; back in 2010, Sen. Mitch McConnell said “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." Maybe that's what he remembered hearing?
The question is, what are the American voters looking for? Here's what they're looking for. They're looking for a president who represents their best future, and not his. That president is not Joe Biden. It's Donald Trump.
I have concerns about a second Joe Biden term, as do many people I know, but I don't think Donald Trump represents anyone's best future, other than his own.
Bash then turned to Scott's belief that Trump will "restore law and order," which is interesting. She pointed to Trump's recent experiences with the law, including trying to overturn the 2020 election, promising to pardon his rioters (he calls them hostages), the stolen documents case, and his latest call for total presidential immunity, and asked how that equated to law and order.
Well, he has a legal team that can answer the questions of the legal challenges that he faces.
Yes - including a lawyer who said presidential immunity would apply if the president ordered SEAL Team 6 to murder a political rival. That's kind of hard to ignore, I think.
But what I can tell you is that, when you look around the cities, when you grow up in poor communities, like I did, and you watch the crime ravishing your communities, you ask yourself what president has allowed that to happen. It's Joe Biden.
Bash didn't interrupt to ask, "What is the president's role in dealing with crime in cities and poor communities?" but I would have.
When you have DAs around the country that say it's no longer a crime to steal $1,000 worth of goods, and those stores start closing in San Francisco and across the country, you ask yourself what president allowed that lawless behavior to continue. That's Joe Biden.
I'm not denying there are serious issues facing retail stores - we've seen the video, right? But again, "What is the president's role in telling elected DAs how to do their jobs?" And, "What is the president's role in making sure that businesses don't lie about crime in the press and in Congressional hearings?" And, "What is the president's role in making sure politicians don't spread the same lies?"
You ask yourself, who can restore the kind of law and order in our nation to allow it to go forward... that would be Donald Trump.
Bash tried again, focusing on the 'hostage' language, noting Scott was at the Capitol on January 6th, jacket off, sleeves rolled up, ready to defend himself "presumably until I died." Would he now refer to the folks facing prosecution as hostages?
I would say that every single person facing our justice system should have justice done. The facts and the evidence in each individual case matters. I have confidence that that process will play out. Here's what I said also in the book that I wrote. I talked about January the 6th, because I'm one of the few people who was actually there with the people outside; 99 percent of the people who showed up were there to exercise their First Amendment rights. What I said then is what I will say now. I don't hold those people at harm. I don't hold them responsible for the actions of a few. I do hold the few responsible, no one else. People have to be responsible for themselves.
Bash tried two more times to get a specific agreement that 'hostages' was the wrong term, but Scott only said, "We should have confidence in restoring the blindfold to Lady Justice." I'm not sure dressing Lady Justice as a blindfold-wearing hostage helps.
Scott was asked if he was comfortable with Trump 'birthering' Nikki Haley, as he did Barack Obama, Ted Cruz, and who knows how many others. His answer is laughable.
Well, I'm watching rhetoric on all sides of the issues facing becoming president. What I mean by that is, the rhetoric from Joe Biden is terrible, but it is -- and it's salacious.
Salacious? Really? I must have bigly missed something! Has Biden campaigned making comments that are "arousing or appealing to sexual desire or imagination?" That sounds a whole lot more like the House GOP (remember Hunter Biden's photos?) or Trump to me.
Nikki Haley questions whether 70-year-olds should be allowed to run for president. I think there is so much negativity and toxicity in this aim to becoming president again or for the first time that we should be very clear and look at both sides of the comments made. What I can tell you, the average voter is more interested in their future and their kids than they are the comments being thrown around by political candidates.
And, whether it's the man he sold his soul to endorsed or anyone else,
Well, I would like for all politicians to comport themselves in a way that is consistent with the highest office.
But I'm happy to endorse the rudest, meanest, most belligerent, most violent, most openly dictatorial, most impressively indicted, most unlike me candidate I could find, instead of gracefully serving out my term and spending time with my bride-to-be.
The last word on this goes to CNN's Amanda Carpenter, who was in the classroom for the interview.
I mean, I've just got to comment a bit on how Tim Scott has closed his race. That interview he conducted with you made me really sad. It was really hard to watch. I think you rarely see a person with his reputation, as an optimistic, charismatic leader, sully it in the way that he did in that interview...
See you around campus.
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