Tim Scott and Nikki Haley Fire Back After Obama Says Voters Are ‘Rightly Skeptical’ of Them

Isaac SchorrJun 16th, 2023, 12:13 pm
 

Former President Barack Obama gave voice to his skepticism of Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and former ambassador Nikki Haley’s optimistic evaluation of American race relations on a Thursday podcast with former advisor David Axelrod.

“I haven’t spent a lot of time studying Tim Scott’s speeches,” noted Obama after being asked to evaluate Scott’s messaging, before nevertheless commenting on it:

I think there is 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. ‘Look at me, I’m Asian- and Indian-American woman and my family came here and we worked hard.’ Clarence Thomas has probably gave the same speech at some point I guarantee in some commencement, as did Alan Keyes the first guy that I ran against.

And look, I’m not being cynical about Tim Scott individually. I am maybe suggesting that the rhetoric of ‘Can’t we all get along’ and those quotes you made from my speech in 2004 about there is a United States of America — that has to be undergirded with an honest accounting of our past and our present.

Obama went on to say that voters are “rightly skeptical” of minority Republican candidates who “may even be sincere” in their optimism if they don’t “have a plan” for addressing “crippling generational poverty” or if they are unwilling to acknowledge “discrimination in everything from getting to job to buying a house to how the criminal justice system operates.”

“We actually have to walk the walk and not just talk the talk,” he added, lamenting that he hasn’t “yet seen it” in the GOP.

Both Scott and Haley objected to that characterization of their respective messages and candidacies.

“Let us not forget we are a land of opportunity, not a land of oppression. Democrats deny our progress to protect their power,” argued Scott on Twitter. “The Left wants you to believe faith in America is a fraud and progress in our nation is a myth. The truth of MY life disproves 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’ve had one and the good news is – we will have another,” he asserted.

Haley hit back even harder.

“.@BarackObamaset minorities back by singling them out as victims instead of empowering them. In America, hard work & personal responsibility matter,” said Haley. “My parents didn’t raise me to think that I would forever be a victim. They raised me to know that I was responsible for my success.”

Scott and Haley are both running for the Republican nomination for president in 2024, and both have highlighted their biographies during their campaigns.

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