Senator Tim Scott, a Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Senator from South Carolina, is scheduled to appear on "The View" following Monday amidst controversy stirred by co-host Joy Behar.
Remarkably, Behar, a vocal left-leaning pundit, has levied harsh criticisms against Scott. In her absence, due to a scheduled day off, it will be intriguing to witness how the show handles the fallout from her remarks.
In a previous episode aired on May 23, Behar issued a scathing critique of Senator Scott after announcing that he'd enter the presidential race. She equated him to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, suggesting that both men, as black Republicans, fail to comprehend the systemic racism that African-Americans and other minorities face in America.
Behar stated, "He doesn't get it; neither does Clarence, and that's why they're Republicans." The audience responded to her statement with applause and laughter.
Adding to the heat, co-host Whoopi Goldberg, during Behar's absence the day before, described Scott as someone who used a "dog whistle" in a recent speech where he extolled "personal responsibility." Goldberg further posited that Scott suffers from what she dubbed as "Clarence Thomas Syndrome."
Senator Scott, undeterred, responded to these assertions on "The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show." Initially, he brought attention to an old photograph of Behar, who is white, dressed in skin-darkening makeup impersonating a "beautiful African woman" in the 1970s, which she has defended in the past. He found it richly ironic and offensive.
He said, "There's no doubt a white lady dressing up in blackface, giving a black man advice, probably doesn't ring true in anyone's mind, certainly not my own, but more importantly, I find it offensive and disgusting and dangerous for a very different reason."
The senator revealed his consternation towards these attacks from the left, arguing that they undermine his accomplishments and character. He expressed, "When I helped write the tax cuts and jobs act, they called me a prop. When I started talking about re-funding the police, they called me a token. When I stepped forward and pushed back on President Biden's... agenda, they called me the N-word ... I'm used to it."
Scott further highlighted his concern for the impact of such behavior on young people wanting to form their conclusions, saying it's like the left telling them to 'Stay in your place, do not stick your head up, because we're gonna tell you how to think so you never learn anything about what you should think.' The senator found it rather absurd and insulting to have millionaire television personalities lecturing him about his life as a black man, calling it "literally the dumbest, most offensive thing I've witnessed on TV."
Previously, in April 2021, Behar lectured Scott on racism after he delivered the Republican rebuttal to President Joe Biden's address to a joint session of Congress. It will be seen how Behar's absence might impact the upcoming episode of "The View" on Monday, with Whoopi Goldberg leading the interview and Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Ana Navarro participating in the conversation.
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