Sen. Tim Scott dropped by “The View” on Monday roughly a week after co-host Joy Behar claimed he didn’t really “understand” what it is like to be a black man in America.
Follow us on Twitter – Click here
“[Tim Scott’s] one of these guys who, you know, he’s like Clarence Thomas, black Republican who believes in pulling yourself up by your bootstraps rather than, to me, understanding the systemic racism that African Americans face in this country and other minorities,” she said last month.
“He doesn’t get it, neither does Clarence. And that’s why they’re Republicans,” Behar added.
The show began calmly enough, but then as time went on, became more animated (see video below).
Here’s a partial transcript:
HOSTIN: “I am actually happy that you’re here. We — we — we have some things in common. You grow up — you grew up in a single-family household, single-mother household, I grew up with both of my parents but raised in the Bronx projects amidst a lot of poverty and — and — and violence. And you were the first black senator elected in the south since the reconstruction, that would be about — I think, about 114 years. Yet you say that your life disproves left—leftist lies. And — and —“
Scott: “Yes.”
HOSTIN: “— my question to you is, I’m the exception, right? You’re the exception. Maybe even Ms. Whoopi Goldberg is the exception but — but —“
HAINES: “She is definitely the exception.”
HOSTIN: “— but we are not the rule. And so when it comes to racial inequality, it persists in — in five core aspects of life in the U.S., economics, education, health care, criminal justice, and housing. At nearly every turn, these achievements were fought, threatened and erased most often by white violence. You have indicated that you don’t believe in systemic racism. What is your definition of systemic racism?”
Scott: “Let me answer the question that you’ve answered.”
HOSTIN: “Does it — or does it even exist in your mind?”
Scott: “Yeah. Let me — let me answer the question this way. One of the things I think about, and one of the reasons why I’m on the show is because of the comments that were made, frankly, on this 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. That is a dangerous, offensive, disgusting message to send to our young people today, that the only way to succeed is by being the exception. I will tell you that if my life is the exception, I can’t imagine —“
HOSTIN: “But — but it is.”
Scott: “But it’s not actually. Here’s — here’s —“
HOSTIN: “It’s been 114 years.”
Scott: “Yeah. So — so, the fact of the matter is we’ve had an African-American president, African American vice president, we’ve had two African-Americans to be secretaries of state. In my home city, the police chief is an African American who’s now running for mayor. The head of the highway patrol for South Carolina is African-American. In 19 —“
HOSTIN: “Still exceptions.”
Scott: “— in 1975, there was about 15 percent unemployment in the African-American community. For the first time in the history of the country, it is under 5 percent.”
HOSTIN: “It’s 40 percent homelessness —“
Scott: “And 50 percent of the folks —“
HOSTIN: “— of African-Americans, yet — yet 13 percent of the population.”
Scott: “You’ve got the chance to ask a question. I know that — I’ve watched you on the show that you’d like people to be deferential and respectful. So I’m going to do that…”
WATCH: