- Conservative radio personality Larry Elder slammed the media’s fixation on black Republicans’ racial characteristics after South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s entrance into the 2024 GOP primary field on Monday.
- Elder told the Daily Caller News Foundation that reporters asked him for a reaction to Scott’s announcement with an emphasis on their shared race, and criticized their obsession with black conservatives.
- “I am running as an American, who is black, to be president of the United States — not to be a black President of the United States,” Elder told the DCNF.
Conservative radio show host and former California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder criticized the media’s obsession with black Republicans’ racial characteristics following South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott’s presidential campaign launch on Monday.
Scott officially announced his 2024 campaign during a speech in his hometown of North Charleston, and many reporters asked Elder for his reaction solely based on their shared race, he told the Daily Caller News Foundation. The conservative personality criticized the media for fixating on the now-two black Republicans in the 2024 GOP primaries, and bashed reporters for their line of questioning.
“Why is it that reporters ask me if, as a fellow black conservative, do I have a reaction to the candidacy of Tim Scott?” Elder told the DCNF. “Often the question is phrased this way, ‘You and Tim Scott are both black Republicans, what differentiates the two of you?’ No one said to Donald Trump or Jeb Bush, ‘You’re both white Republicans, what distinguishes the two of you?’”
Elder said the two Republicans have distinct personas, “temperaments” and “work experiences,” and he wants people to vote for him because of his personality and the issues he’s running on, he told the DCNF. The conservative host said he is confident the electorate will pick the candidate with the greatest ability to beat President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, and doesn’t want his race to influence whether people vote for him.
“Senator Scott and I are both black. Neither of us thinks of himself as a victim. But we both have different backstories, a different upbringing, different experience[s] and different ways of how we view the country and the world,” Elder told the DCNF. “I am running as an American, who is black, to be president of the United States — not to be a black President of the United States.”
Reporters are calling me and asking, “You and Tim Scott are both black Republicans, what distinguishes you from him?” My response? “Did you reporters in 2016 say to Trump, ‘You and Jeb Bush are both white Republicans, what distinguishes you from him?’” #Condescending
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) May 22, 2023
Scott maintained the ideal that he is “living proof” America isn’t a racist country, and noted his family was able to go from “cotton to Congress” within his grandfather’s lifetime, he said in his announcement speech. The senator drew on his upbringing, and insisted that through “faith” and “patriotism,” there is “opportunity.”
“I have lived the American dream. I have held the truth, the inalienable truth, that all men and women are created equal! And endowed by our Creator with the right to be free!,” said Scott. “Our party and our nation are standing at a time for choosing. Victimhood or victory? Grievance or greatness? I choose freedom and hope and opportunity.”
Former President Donald Trump also reacted to Scott’s presidential bid where he wished the senator well in the GOP primaries while he took a jab at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to jump in the race as early as Wednesday, he wrote in a Truth Social post.
“Good luck to Senator Tim Scott in entering the Republican Presidential Primary Race,” Trump said. “It is rapidly loading up with lots of people, and Tim is a big step up from Ron DeSanctimonious, who is totally unelectable. I got Opportunity Zones done with Tim, a big deal that has been highly successful. Good luck Tim!”
The Real Clear Politics (RCP) average for a 2024 national Republican primary, based on polls conducted between April 21 and May 18, indicates that Elder and Scott have 1.3% and 1.8% support, respectively.
Along with Elder and Trump, Scott enters the growing GOP primary field with his former colleague and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, with DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence expected to soon follow.
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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
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