Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) shot back at those criticizing his endorsement of former President Trump on Wednesday and claimed the former president “did more for minorities” than President Biden has.
Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, was asked by Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham if he expected scrutiny from the left for his support of Trump, who has a history of controversial remarks regarding race.
Scott told Ingraham he was not expecting the criticism, but he does “expect the left to lose their mind, because Donald Trump did more for minorities than Joe Biden … will ever do.”
“Think about the fact that Donald Trump put more money in historically Black colleges and universities than any other president,” Scott continued.
During Trump’s time in the White House, he claimed unwavering support for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and once said the institutions “never had better champions in the White House.”
Trump, in 2019, signed a bipartisan bill to permanently provide more than $250 million per year to the nation’s HBCUs, as well as several other institutions serving large shares of minority students. At the time, the former president said his administration “continue[d] to deliver” on his promise “to fight for HBCUs.”
Trump himself has touted similar accomplishments and has previously claimed that his administration has done more for the African American community “than any president since Abraham Lincoln.”
Scott on Wednesday further touted Trump’s work on the economy, unemployment and sickle cell anemia — a blood disorder that disproportionately affects the Black population.
“Guess what? He’ll help white people and Black people and brown people. I mean, he likes everybody,” Scott said.
The South Carolina Republican, who suspended his own presidential bid in November, formally endorsed Trump last week. He appeared onstage with Trump on Tuesday night, following the former president’s victory over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the New Hampshire primary.
While on stage, Trump said to Scott, “You must really hate [Haley].”
Scott laughed and said, “I just love you!”
The interaction drew the ire of the Rev. Al Sharpton, who called Scott’s rhetoric around Trump “humiliating.”
“It’s not a good thing in my life to watch Tim do that,” Sharpton said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“He has a right to be Republican; he has a right to do Donald Trump. But to do it in such a way that is so humiliating was troubling.”