‘You Strike, You’re Fired!’ Tim Scott Channels Reagan in Apparent Call to Fire Striking Auto Workers

Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott delivered an apparent call to fire the United Auto Workers who are currently on strike over their dispute with auto manufacturers.

The South Carolina senator held a town hall in Fort Dodge, IA on Monday — where he was asked if he, as president, would involve himself in the current labor talks. His answer: “I think Ronald Reagan gave us a great example when federal employees decided they were going to strike.”

“He said ‘You strike, you’re fired!’ Simple concept to me,” Scott continued. “To the extent that we can use that once again, absolutely.”

Scott was referring to how the 40th president fired more than 11,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Association in 1981 as they were protesting for improved wages and shorter hours. While former president and current GOP frontrunner Donald Trump offered a measure of support for the striking auto workers during a recent interview, Scott has taken a more negative view of the strikers’ demands.

“We’re seeing the UAW fight for more benefits and less hours working,” Scott said in previous comments flagged by NBC. “More pay and fewer days on the job. It’s a disconnect from work, and we have to find a way to encourage and inspire people to go back to work.”

Asked why Scott brought up Reagan’s firing of federal workers, campaign spokesperson Matt Gorman told NBC that Scott “has repeatedly made clear, both at that event and others, that taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize any deal with the UAW and auto companies.”

Watch above via Forbes.