Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) declared that the United States is “not a racist country,” and Vice President Kamala Harris is weighing in on those remarks.
In his roughly 15-minute speech response to Biden’s address, Scott said, “Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country.”
He also said in the GOP rebuttal on Wednesday night, “Just before COVID, we had the most inclusive economy in my lifetime,” adding, “The lowest unemployment rate ever recorded for African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians, and a 70 year low nearly for women. Wages were growing faster for the bottom 25% than the top 25%. That happened because Republicans focused on expanding opportunity for all Americans.”
Scott is the only Black Republican senator.
Watch Scott’s comments below:
Sen. Tim Scott accused Democrats of using race as a political weapon to pass their agenda.
— POLITICO (@politico) April 29, 2021
"Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country," Scott said in his response to Biden's address to Congress. https://t.co/XdmrRxelSi pic.twitter.com/OW3GpaKtbJ
Harris was asked if she agrees with Scott’s remark during an appearance on “Good Morning America” Thursday morning.
“First of all, no I don’t think America is a racist country,” Harris said. “But we also do have to speak truth about the history of racism in our country and its existence today.”
She noted President Joe Biden’s remarks during his address to Congress, where he talked about domestic terrorism.
“These are issues that we must confront,” Harris said. “It does not help to heal our country, to unify us as a people to ignore the realities of that.”
Check out Harris’s reaction below:
.@ABC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: @VP Kamala Harris responds to GOP Senator’s claim that “America is not a racist country.” https://t.co/sCuo1VsG2n pic.twitter.com/jRkLmRDBpZ
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 29, 2021
Biden called white supremacy the “most lethal terrorist threat” to the United States during his address, as IJR reported on.
“Make no mistake, in 20 years, terrorism has metastasized. The threat has evolved way beyond Afghanistan. … We have to remain vigilant against threats to the United States, wherever they come from,” Biden said.
He added, “Al-Qaeda and ISIS are in Yemen, Syria, Somalia, and other places in Africa and the Middle East and beyond. And, we won’t ignore what our own intelligence agencies have determined to be the most lethal terrorist threat to the homeland today: White supremacy is terrorism.”
Biden spoke about the U.S. economy, coronavirus pandemic, policing practices, China, and the U.S. Capitol riot that occurred on January 6, among other topics.