America’s first black president took aim at black Republican senator Tim Scott for saying his party was “doing a fabulous job of making progress”.
Scott launched his presidential bid last month on an optimistic platform and has placed his own struggle story at the center of his campaign, with an ethos that suggests anyone can be successful if they choose.
But former President Barack Obama said in a podcast released Thursday that it’s time for the Republican Party to understand how systemic racism has shaped the nation’s history.
“And so, if a Republican who can even be sincere in saying ‘I want us all to live together’ doesn’t have a plan to address the crippling generational poverty that is the result of hundreds of years of racism in this society and we have to do something about it…” Obama told the Ax filesmoderated by his former adviser David Axelrod.
“If someone doesn’t offer, both acknowledging and offering things that say, ‘No, we can’t just ignore all of this and pretend everything is equal and fair. We actually have to go along and not just talk.
Former President Barack Obama (g) in a podcast said the Republican Party needed to heed the nation’s history on race, and specifically targeted 2024 hopeful Senator Tim Scott.
“If they don’t, I think people are rightly skeptical.”
Scott responded to his comments late Thursday, but avoided attacking Obama by name.
“Let’s not forget that we are a land of opportunity, not a land of oppression. Democrats deny our progress to protect their power,” he said.
“The left wants you to believe that faith in America is a fraud and that progress in our nation is a myth. The truth of my life refutes the lies of the radical left.
“We live in a country where little black and brown boys and girls can be president of the United States. The truth is we got one and the good news is we will get another.
Scott, the first black Republican from the South elected to the Senate since Reconstruction, recently took his campaign to daytime television.
He asked for a chance to respond after Joy Behar, a host of The View, said he “didn’t get it” about systemic racism.
When he appeared on the show last week, he even cited Obama as an example of how African Americans can be successful.
“The thing is, we’ve had an African American president, an African American vice president, we’ve had two African Americans to be secretaries of state,” he said.
“In my hometown, the chief of police is an African American who is now running for mayor.”
Obama also said the GOP must overrule Donald Trump’s populist grievances
Senator Tim Scott appeared on The View, when co-host Joy Behar said he didn’t understand race issues in the United States as a black Republican
In response, Obama said Republicans need to be honest.
“I’m not cynical about Tim Scott individually,” he said. “I’m suggesting maybe the rhetoric of ‘can’t we all get along? …it must be underpinned by an honest account of our past and present.
Obama also said there was an openness within the Republican Party for a platform that goes beyond Donald Trump’s grievances.
“What we’ve seen is a Republican party that has embraced cultural populism, the kind of populism we talked about earlier, resentment, anger, exploiting people’s sense that things aren’t rigged, but what you don’t see is the Republican Party embracing … they still have a very elite economic agenda with a cultural overlay,” he said.
“I think there’s an opening for a smart Republican out there to talk about economic issues and say, ‘You know what, I wouldn’t mind if people who are doing really well pay a little more money. ‘taxes’.
Scott has repeatedly defended the Republican race record and argued that his success was not some kind of exception but a path open to all.
His most publicized defense came on The View last week.
“One of the reasons I’m on the show is because of the comments that have been made, frankly, on the show – that the only way for a young African-American kid to be successful in this country is to be the exception and not the rule,” Scott said.
“It’s a dangerous, offensive and disgusting message to send to our young people today – that the only way to succeed is to be the exception.”
He noted the massive progress African Americans have made in his lifetime alone and noted the successful people in power he knows today — adding former President Barack Obama and current Vice -President Kamala Harris to this list.
But he missed the chance to face Behar. He appeared on the show last Monday, his usual day off.
