A big talking point for the current incarnation of the GOP is that racism doesn’t exist. During his recent address to America, Joe Biden talked about systemic racism and how the country might combat the issue.
To Tim Scott, who gave the rebuttal to Biden’s speech, it isn’t all that big a deal. The South Carolina lawmaker said to viewers, “Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country. It’s backwards to fight discrimination with different types of discrimination. And it’s wrong to try to use our painful past to dishonestly shut down debates in the present.”
Scott gave a strange explanation for his comments during a Sunday appearance on Meet the Press. He told John Dickerson:
“One of the reasons I have asked to lead this police reform conversation on my side of the aisle is because I personally understand the pain of being stopped 18 times driving while Black. I have also seen the beauty of when officers go door to door with me on Christmas morning delivering presents to kids in the most underserved communities. So I think I bring an equilibrium to the conversation,” he said. “That gives me reason to be hopeful.”
Republicans often have a difficult time explaining their policies. This, however, was a doozy. While trying to argue that the country isn’t biased, Scott gave a perfect example of systemic racism.
Watch a clip of the segment below, courtesy of ABC:
Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey based politics and technology writer. His work has been featured in psfk.com, foxsports.com and hillreporter.com. He enjoys sports, politics, comic books and spending time at the shore with his family.