Tucker interviews sitting South Carolina Senator Tim Scott
“Those who do not like common sense conservative principles driven by the Judeo-Christian foundation [should] choose another candidate. It’s that simple.” ~ Sen. Tim Scott
The Blaze held a summit over this July 15, 2023 weekend where Tucker Carlson interviewed the current field of 2024 Republican Party presidential primary candidates one on one (except Trump).
This post is a quick summary of Tucker’s interview with sitting South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. You can watch the full video here, and I’ve include a 3 minute clip below.
What I Heard
Here’s what I heard when I listened to Tucker interview sitting South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.
We’re fighting a forming “axis of evil”? Scott says our vital national interest in Ukraine is to degrade the Russian military. Scott asserts this is good for America. As support, Scott suggests an “axis of evil” is forming among Russia, China, and Iran. Scott asserts that “breaking that into pieces” before it gets started is a vital American interest. [4:15–6:41]
Why force peace when we can manage war? When asked why not just force peace given that Ukraine is a client state of the USA, Scott responds “How would you do that?” Scott couldn’t really articulate how we’d know when our mission in Ukraine was accomplished. Using various turns of phrase, Scott’s message is that he’d be a better war manager than Biden and project weakness. [7:00–11:15]
Build the wall to address homelessness? When asked about rising homelessness in America, Scott gave a rambling answer which can be summarized like this: We should build the wall to stop the fentanyl which is part of the mental health crisis that underlies homelessness. [11:30-14:35]
Put the IRS on the border (not really)? Scott says he would divert the billions allocated for 87,000 new IRS agents (not the agents themselves) to securing the border. (The crowd seemed all for sending IRS agents to guard the border, though!) [14:39–18:13]
No windfalls for CEOs of failed banks. Scott noted his view that government should claw back money from bank executives who oversee failed banks. He says he worked on legislation to make that view a reality. [28:00-28:30]
Tim Scott’s Five Commandments. Scott turned a question about whether he disagrees with any of his big donors into a meandering answer that eventually concluded with what I’ll call Tim Scott’s Five Commandments (listed below) dealing with personal responsibility, work, crime & punishment, female sports, and border security. [23:20–30:26]
“If you take out a loan, you pay it back”;
“If you’re able-bodied, you work”;
“If you commit a violent crime, you go to jail”;
“Men should compete, in sports, against men”;
“Closing the southern border is absolutely in America’s best interest Period.”
And for those that don’t like it, eat a . . . Scott closed by saying “Those who do not like common sense conservative principles driven by the Judeo-Christian foundation [should] choose another candidate. It’s that simple.” [30:00–30:26]
My Thoughts
Tim Scott is a black, humble, folksy, accessible, empathetic version of Mike Pence. He quoted scripture or referenced God and religious principles a number of times, so I would think the religious right would like him just as much as Mike Pence. A key difference is that former Vice President Pence comes across as a pious religious zealot who believes in the superiority of his religious convictions. Sen. Scott, on the other hand, comes across as one who turns to Christianity and faith because these things helped him overcome obstacles in life.
But, while Scott is an improvement over Pence, I didn’t hear any specific vision on any issue, and on Ukraine, it seemed like Scott’s pitch is that he’ll be a better more responsive war manager.
I anticipate left-leaning print, radio, and television media will keep Scott relevant by making him look like a viable candidate. In fact, during the interview, Tucker recalled seeing dozens of articles online praising Scott and suggesting big money donors are flocking to him. But Tim Scott seemed to refute those articles.
To me, while it seems Tim Scott has been a solid Senator for South Carolina, nothing about him says cabinet or vice president, let alone POTUS. I think any honest political observer can see that. On the other hand, if a senator from the former slave state of Delaware secured 81 million votes last election, then who’s to say Sen. Scott can’t do the same.
Kudos to The Blaze for having Tucker interview the current field of Republican presidential candidates. It’s worth watching the various interviews if you haven’t.