Tim Scott hits back at Obama’s critique: ‘No higher compliment’

GOP presidential hopeful Sen. Tim Scott on Sunday dismissed Barack Obama’s recent attack on him as a “compliment” — and a sign that Democrats “feel threatened” by his candidacy.

Last week, Obama chided Scott’s stance on race relations, saying “there’s a long history of African-American or other minority candidates within the Republican Party who will validate America and say, ‘Everything’s great, and we can make it.’” 

Scott (R-SC) brushed off the criticism, telling “Fox News Sunday,” “There’s no higher compliment to be attacked by President Obama.

“Whenever the Democrats feel threatened, they drag out the former president and have him make some negative comments about someone running, hoping that their numbers go down. The truth of my life disproves the lies of the radical left.”

Scott has publicly reflected on his experiences with racism and has recounted getting stopped by security on his way to work in the Senate seven times within a year despite being a sitting senator.

Host Shannon Bream asked him if those experiences proved Obama’s point.

“Absolutely not,” he replied.

Obama’s remarks came on a podcast with Democratic strategist David Axelrod, who surmised that Republicans like Scott share “half” of Obama’s perspective on race relations — the part about the United States making progress.

But Axelrod contended that Republicans diverge from him when they suggest that racial challenges are “part of the past and we don’t need to worry about it so much.”

“I’m not being cynical about Tim Scott individually, but I am maybe suggesting the rhetoric of ‘Can’t we all get along,’” Obama added, “that has to be undergirded with an honest accounting of our past and our present.”

Scott has previously argued that “America is not a racist country” and cited his life story as proof.

“Here is what the people need to know: The truth of my life disproves lies of the radical left,” Scott further said on Fox News, alluding to his upbringing by a single mother and journey to the upper chamber.

Scott is one of three black senators, and the only black Republican in the upper chamber. He is also one of two in the 2024 GOP primary field alongside conservative radio host Larry Elder.

The senator previously responded to Obama’s critique, contending that “the one thing the far left does not want a black person to be in this country is a conservative” during an interview with conservative radio host Mark Levin.

Obama’s remarks also namedropped fellow South Carolinian and 2024 hopeful Nikki Haley.

“Nikki Haley I think has a similar approach,” he said.

Haley, the first Indian American to serve in the presidential cabinet and the second Indian American to serve as governor in the country, similarly shot back at Obama over those remarks.

“Barack Obama set minorities back by singling them out as victims instead of empowering them. In America, hard work and personal responsibility matter. My parents didn’t raise me to think that I would forever be a victim. They raised me to know that I was responsible for my success,” Haley said in a statement.