Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) talks with Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) outside the Senate chamber on Sept. 13, 2016. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)
Posted on 09/15/2017 8:36:37 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Stressing that the violence of 300 years of racism in America is not equivalent to the anarchist Antifa protesters, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said he wasn't confident President Trump would have an "epiphany" on race in America after the two had a candid chat at the White House on Wednesday.
The White House, along with a photo calling the senator "Tom" Scott, said in a statement released after the meeting that they discussed the "administration’s relationship with the African-American community, the bipartisan issue of improving race relations, and creating a more unified country."
"President Trump remains committed to positive race relations and looks forward to continuing the dialogue with Senator Scott, the African-American community, and leaders from diverse communities across the country, all of which have a wealth of perspectives and experiences with respect to this issue," the readout continued.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later said that the two talked about Charlottesville "pretty in-depth, but the focus was primarily on solutions moving forward."
Scott (R-S.C.) told Vice News in a sit-down interview after the deadly Charlottesville protest last month that he was "not going to defend the indefensible" after Trump said there were "very fine people on both sides" of the white nationalist rally and blamed both sides for the violence after counter-protesters were run over, killing Heather Heyer. "What we want to see from our president is clarity and moral authority," the senator said, adding "that moral authority is compromised" with the comments Trump made.
The only black GOP senator, Scott has been frank about issues facing the African-American community including a highly personal floor speech last year on his frustrating experiences with law enforcement even as a member of Congress.
Scott told CBS after Wednesday's Oval Office meeting that Trump has "obviously reflected on what he has said, on his intentions and the perception of those comments" about Charlottesville. "I'll let him discuss how he feels about it, but he was certainly very clear that the perception that he received on his comments was not exactly what he intended with those comments."
"What I wanted to get out of the conversation was a focus on fairness and opportunity," the senator explained. "Most people of color and frankly all Americans, want to be treated fairly in this nation, and they want access to opportunities."
Axios, based on three sources with knowledge of the meeting, reported that the sit-down lasted for about half an hour and Scott shared his personal story with the president of being raised by a single mom in a poor Southern household. They reported that Scott "echoed the critical comments he made about the president after Charlottesville, explaining why he was troubled by them, and rooting them in the black experience in America — a history of slavery, grotesque violence and discrimination."
The New York Times reported that Scott "delivered a pointed lecture on America's 300-year legacy of racism" to Trump. Asked afterward if Trump had expressed regret for his Charlottesville comments, Scott replied, "He certainly tried to explain what he was trying to convey."
Aboard Air Force One today, Trump told reporters that he and Scott "had a great talk... I think especially in light of the advent of Antifa, if you look at what's going on there, you know, you have some pretty bad dudes on the other side also. And essentially that's what I said."
"Now because of what's happened since then, with Antifa, you look at, you know, really what's happened since Charlottesville -- a lot of people are saying -- in fact a lot of people have actually written, 'gee, Trump might have a point.' I said, you got some very bad people on the other side also, which is true," Trump said. "But we had a great conversation and he also has legislation, which I actually like very much -- the concept of which, I support -- to get people going into certain areas and building and constructing and putting people to work. And I told him yesterday, that's a concept I could support very easily."
Trump also acknowledged that Scott asked him to add diversity to his administration staff. "I told him I would do it," the president said.
Of Trump's latest comments, Scott told BuzzFeed, "At the end of the day, I voiced my concerns about the thought that somehow three centuries of American history of raping and murdering people based on their color is somehow equal to what Antifa is doing today."
"He is who he has been and I didn't go in there to change who he was; I wanted to inform and educate a different perspective," Scott said. "I think we accomplished that. To assume that immediately thereafter he's going to have an epiphany is just unrealistic."
Scott's office released a statement emphasizing that, in his meeting with Trump, the senator was "very, very clear about the brutal history surrounding the white supremacist movement and their horrific treatment of black and other minority groups."
"Rome wasn't built in a day, and to expect the president's rhetoric to change based on one 30-minute conversation is unrealistic. Antifa is bad and should be condemned, yes, but the KKK and white supremacist groups have been killing and tormenting black Americans for centuries. There is no realistic comparison. Period," the statement continued.
"At the same time, it was encouraging to hear the president commit, as he did yesterday in their meeting, to diversifying his staff, as well as make clear his support for the senator's Investing in Opportunity Act. These are concrete steps that will help our poor and minority communities and ensure their voices are heard. No matter what is said or not said, the senator will continue his efforts to unite our nation and move forward as one American family."
Primary this clown.
“Trump tryin’ to enslave us agin’”
Primary both these clowns
Apparently this guy isn’t bright enough to figure out that complaints about racism are going to fall on a lot of deaf ears in a country where the state that was the site of the first Civil War battle is now represented by a black man in the U.S. Senate.
Oh shut up, Scott. Your skin color doesn’t make you an automatic expert on what constitutes “hate speech.”
Sad that only his blackness matters most.
I was never enamored with Timmy, he talks rather garbled imho.
“... killing Heather Heyer.”
It looks like she wasn’t hit by the car, and died of a heart attack.
She died from stupidity.
She was being cool and got dead
Amazing how reliably deep-red states have such awful senators.
SC, AZ, KY most notably stand out at this moment.
It’s a shame that Scott cannot open his eyes and mind and appreciate the enlightened perspective President Trump, uniquely, has shed upon what happened in Charlottesville.
There definitely was enough blame to be assigned to both sides.
Anifa and Black Lives Matter are domestic terrorist groups.
Moreover, it is an abomination that they are demanding—and succeeding—in desecrating our historic landmarks.
Their efforts are much in line with how ISIS has ravaged, pillaged and destroyed monuments (especially religious ones) in the Middle East. No organization, entity, etc., should have this kind of power.
Finally, why, after over two hundred years of our country’s existence, is all of this suddenly such a big deal???!!!
Do you have a source for that information? That should certainly get wide coverage.
Scott too? You know, I heard the same statement from President Trump that I assume Scott heard. The same statement all of those who have jumped on Trump have heard. I heard no defense of Nazis or Klansmen, just acknowledgement that there were other people there who were not NS or KKK who were protesting the removal of the statue. And there was violence from Antifa and other communist and anarchist types. Those are the facts.
If I, being nobody, know the background of the situation and what the President was referring to, then surely a mighty U.S. Senator, or media celebrity, can find that out too and comment on the situation accurately Otherwise, they are simply lazy or stupid or they are cowards or liars. Maybe all four combined.
When you get this kind of response to the truth you begin to realize the depth of the problem in DC and the country as a whole.
The issue of race,pulling the race card and attaching race to every iota of daily life is a red herring and a tried and true Alinski tactic.
This all looks like Senator Scott was attacking Trump. But he wasn’t.
Adios, NY SLIMES, etc. are the quoted sources. Scott was having a conversation with Trump. And they were civil. And in Scott’s own words it was “very encouraging”.
Let’s not hand wring needlessly.
Amazing how reliably deep-red states have such awful senators.
SC, AZ, KY most notably stand out at this moment.
Not for long. SC is filling up with transplants from blue states. The mega corporations like Boeing and BMW that call shots are fully controlled by leftists. I really wouldn’t consider SC a “deep red state” any longer.
He’s such a fraud. I never understood the conservative excitement about him. He doesn’t seem too bright and has zero charisma. Now it’s confirmed.
This all looks like Senator Scott was attacking Trump. But he wasn’t.
Adios, NY SLIMES, etc. are the quoted sources. Scott was having a conversation with Trump. And they were civil. And in Scott’s own words it was “very encouraging”.
The media will always dredge up previous anti-Trump comments and attach them to current stories. Scott knew this when he took a calculated cheap shot at POTUS post Charlottesville. So, he owns it all in my book.
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