Tim Scott defends saying ‘woke supremacy’ is as bad as white supremacy

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is defending his comments that “woke supremacy” is as bad as white supremacy, saying it was a response to being called a token for Republicans.

“My comments were a sound-bite-length reaction to yet another media figure accusing me of being a token for Republicans,” Scott wrote in The Washington Post.

Scott said that he was not comparing the history of white supremacy and that he is “painfully aware that four centuries of racism, bigotry and killings does not compare to the nascent woke movement.”

However, he said he is “gravely concerned for our future if we ignore either type of supremacy — both of which are rooted in racism or discrimination.”

Scott listed the racist comments he has received for being a Black Republican and said woke supremacists are his critics who believe diversity doesn’t matter if it isn’t coupled with progressive thinking.

“It is the ‘tolerant’ left’s intolerance for dissent. It is a progressive conception of diversity that does not include diversity of thought. It is discrimination falsely marketed as inclusion,” Scott wrote.

Scott’s op-ed was published after a Post columnist’s headline called him a “fool” for his “woke supremacy” comments.

Scott also said woke supremacy is shown when people ignore his accomplishments in Congress, such as securing funding for historically Black colleges, because he is a Black Republican.

“Critics discount these accomplishments for the Black community because it conflicts with the caricature they’ve created of what it means to be Black and to be a Republican,” Scott wrote.

Scott is the first Black senator from South Carolina and has been in office since 2013. He is one of three Black senators.

Scott said he believes that “woke culture” will continue to divide the U.S. “or we can choose to create equality of opportunity and access to the American Dream for everyone.”