April 11, 2024
Tim Scott Launches Video Series Featuring Five Of America’s Black Republican Lawmakers
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Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) launched a new video series featuring five Black Republican congressional legislators that delve into the experience.
“America’s Starting Five” premiered on April 5 with a roundtable discussion featuring Scott and Reps. Burgess Owens (Utah), John James (Mich.), Wesley Hunt (Texas), and Rep. Byron Donalds (Fla.), who is credited but not seen.
The series touches on what it means to be a Black Republican amid the 2024 presidential election. During the first episode, the group discusses the growing demographic of Black Republicans and Joe Biden’s “You ain’t Black” comments stated on The Breakfast Club radio show.
“Well, I’ll tell you what. If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black,” Biden told host Charlamagne tha God before being elected in 2020.
The former presidential candidate called the comments “frustrating as well as entertaining” and claimed Biden gets away with saying things.
“Frustrating in that Democrats and Joe Biden get away with saying the darnedest things and never held accountable by anyone for the things they say so salaciously,” Scott said to the others.
“Entertaining because that is funny. I mean, seriously, that’s the thing that you can’t be Black? An old white dude telling me I can’t be Black if I don’t vote for him?”
Moving on to Biden’s controversial comments when he said, “Poor kids are just as bright and talented as white kids,” James took the comment seriously. “I think Joe Biden is as serious as a heart attack,” the Michigan lawmaker said, with Hunt agreeing with him, saying “100 percent.” “The arrogance of these white liberals condescending not just African Americans, but poor kids in general.”
According to Fox News, the series has been in the works for weeks with a goal of reaching Black voters. Hunt posted a photo on Twitter in February 2024, giving a sneak peek of the show, calling him and his colleagues “The Democrat Party’s WORST NIGHTMARE in one room.”
The videos were designed to mimic a casual meeting place for Black men, drawing inspiration from the role barbershops play in the Black community, frequently seen in podcasts like LeBron James’ “The Shop: Uninterrupted.”
Scott’s series comes as former President Donald Trump has been pushing the envelope to secure the Black vote by naming the senator and Donalds as potential candidates for his running mate. “I watched him in the last week, defending me and sticking up for me and fighting for me,” Trump said about Scott during an interview in February 2024. “I said, ‘Man, you’re a much better person for me than you are for yourself.'”
The second installment of the series is scheduled to premiere on April 12.