Tim Scott, once principled, gives up his political soul for Trump | Opinion
Tim Scott is the incredible shrinking man. The more time he spends in Donald Trump’s orbit and at the former president’s feet, the smaller the once-seemingly principled junior senator from South Carolina becomes.
It’s ugly.
And sad.
And all-too-predictable.
The latest round came during this recent episode of “Meet the Press.” Moderator Kristen Welker asked a softball of a question. Scott refused to answer, likely because he didn’t want to get sideways with election-denying Trump.
“Well, senator, will you commit to accepting the election results of 2024, bottom line? she asked.
“At the end of the day, the 47th president of the United States will be President Donald Trump...” Scott dodged.
Welker pushed multiple times. Scott accused NBC News of being a wing of the “Democrat Party” but wouldn’t answer a fundamental question about our democracy, the peaceful transfer of power, which did not occur in 2020. There was a violent insurrection attempt by thousands of Trump supporters.
That’s why it is so important for every serious candidate for major office to answer that simple, yet profoundly important question in the affirmative. It’s obvious why. He wants to keep open the possibility that Trump may pick him as his running mate.
According to Axios, Scott is on Trump’s short list of potential vice-presidential candidates.
“As a (presidential) candidate, he did a good job, but as a surrogate, he’s unbelievable,” Trump reportedly said of Scott.
What seems like a lifetime ago, Scott was considered one of the most-principled Republicans in the country. He no longer is. He’s chosen, instead, the walk the road Chris Christie walked. The former New Jersey governor was so popular in 2012 it seemed he could give Barack Obama a run for the White House. He decided to forgo a shot at the presidency only to bend the knee to Trump in 2016. It was more than a fall from grace. It was embarrassing. A man who rose to national political prominence because he seemed the tough, straight-shooter had relegated himself to Trump’s shadow.
Christie tried to break free from that image during this year’s GOP presidential primary, but it was far too late.
The fall for Scott has been worse. After being appointed by then-South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to serve as the state’s junior senator then becoming the first black man from the Deep South since Reconstruction to win a senate seat, Scott’s image felt set. Even if you didn’t agree with his politics, his story felt inspired. He was guided by a sincere morality. He overcame a challenging early life with the guidance of a strong mother and a deep-abiding Christian faith.
No longer. He’s now just another among a long list of Trump sycophants hoping the former president will throw him a bread crumb or two. It’s in line with Bill Barr, who served as Trump’s attorney general, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
Trump took to his social media site Truth Social to mercilessly mock Barr even as Barr endorsed Trump:
“Wow! Former A.G. Bill Barr, who let a lot of great people down by not investigating Voter Fraud in our Country, has just Endorsed me for President despite the fact that I called him ‘Weak, Slow Moving, Lethargic, Gutless, and Lazy’ (New York Post!),” Trump posted. “Based on the fact that I greatly appreciate his wholehearted Endorsement, I am removing the word ‘Lethargic’ from my statement. Thank you Bill.”
Embarrassing.
In an obvious attempt to get Trump’s attention to make her the Republican vice-presidential nominee, Noem wrote in an upcoming book that she can make tough decisions, detailing how she had the guts to shoot a puppy named “Cricket.”
Politics makes strange bedfellows and requires even stranger alliances. There was a time Scott’s principles would not have allowed him to join a band of lickspittles with more loyalty to Trump than country.
That was pre-Trump — when Scott still had a political soul — a long time ago.
Issac Bailey is a McClatchy Opinion writer in North and South Carolina.
