Former President Barack Obama criticized Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s approach to racial issues in a recent interview.
The former commander in chief sat down with Democratic strategist David Axelrod for a CNN interview which aired on Thursday. Axelrod asked Obama for his thoughts on Scott’s handling of racial discussions on the campaign trail. Obama accused Scott of playing down American racial issues. (RELATED: Tim Scott Announces 2024 Presidential Campaign)
“I think there’s a long history of African-American or other minority candidates within the Republican Party who will validate America and say, ‘everything’s great, and we can all make it.’ I mean Nikki Haley I think has a similar approach,” Obama said.
“I’m not being cynical about Tim Scott individually, I am maybe suggesting that the rhetoric of ‘can’t we all get along’… That has to be undergirded with an honest accounting of our past and our present,” Obama added.
Scott discussed Obama’s impact on racial issues during a Wednesday interview with lawyer Mark Levin, arguing that the former president missed an opportunity to unite Americans of different races.
Obama discusses Tim Scott, Nikki Haley and how they talk about race w/ @davidaxelrod pic.twitter.com/C8uv4b7oci
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“When it comes to race, don’t you think Barack Obama missed a massive opportunity to really pull the country together? To get people to appreciate each other for who they are instead of building into this group-ism?” Levin asked.
“Mark, he missed a softball moving at slow speed with a big bat,” Scott responded. “You can’t miss this opportunity. America was hungry for bringing our country together, this coalition building where we can see black kids and white kids and red ones and brown ones, as MLK spoke about, joining hands and singing with new meaning, ‘my country ‘tis of thee,” Scott answered.
“President Biden ran as the great uniter, and he has been the great divider. I have heard more negative things about people under his leadership than I have in a long time. And I will tell you, the one thing the far left does not want a black person to be in this country is a conservative,” he continued.
“It is possible for America to come together, but not because of the color of our skin, but because of the consistency of our value system,” Scott added.