US ELECTIONS 2024
Tim Scott, of the US Republican Party, launched his candidacy on Monday, May 22. The senator assured that his proposal is different because he seeks “victory” and not “victimization.” He made a call to faith and set himself as an example for having achieved the so-called “American dream.” In addition, he outlined his proposals for a strong hand against migration and micro-trafficking cartels.
“Our party and our nation are in a moment to choose: victimization or victory. I choose freedom, hope and opportunity.” With these words, and arguing a “more optimistic” proposal, Tim Scott launched his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election.
“We need a president who will not only persuade our friends and our base, but who will seek common sense solutions and show compassion for people who disagree with us,” Scott said, amid a heckling crowd chanting his name.
The launch of his campaign came after he presented his documentation to the Federal Electoral Commission on Friday, May 19. One that occurs before the announcement of the possible candidacy of the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis. According to local media, it could be consummated this week.
Scott took a mass bath in his hometown of North Charleston. Visited the campus of Charleston Southern University, his alma mater, and a private school affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
There, the senator repeatedly mentioned his Christian faith in his opening speech and on several occasions shouted: “Amen! Amen! Amen!”. In unison, the people who accompanied him repeated the same word.
Once he introduced the subject of Christianity to the scene, Scott, who is deeply religious, assured that with the arrival of President Joe Biden to the White House the country “is moving away from patriotism and faith, from dignity and from work.”
“Joe Biden and the radical left are attacking every rung of the ladder that helped me climb. They are attacking our American values, our schools, our economy and our security,” he criticized. And he sentenced: “The only thing we need is a twist.”
Who is Tim Scott?
The legislator is 57 years old. He is the son of divorced parents and the grandson of a worker in the cotton fields of the south of the country. The origin of it was aor of the arguments that he used this Monday, and that will surely be part of his campaign as a differential flag. According to the now candidate, his family managed to get out of jobs in which African-Americans were denigrated for years and was able to reach spheres of power like the one he currently occupies.
“My family has gone from cotton to Congress. And that has been possible because my grandfather had a stubborn faith. I am living proof that the United States is a land of opportunity, not oppression,” he stressed.
At 18, Scott became what he calls a “born again believer.” Since then, faith has been an integral part of his political and personal narrative. According to him, his beliefs allow him to be a “positive catalyst for change.”
When he was appointed to the US Senate in 2012, Scott established himself as the first African-American senator from the South since the Civil War. In the 2014 special election, in which he was staking out the remainder of his term, he became the first black candidate to win a statewide race in South Carolina since the Reconstruction era.
Scott served in the State Chamber and the Charleston County Council while managing an insurance company.
He also ran for lieutenant governor, but quickly dropped out when he learned there might be a vacancy in Congress after the departure of Rep. Henry Brown.
The Republican has emphasized being the only African American at multiple conservative meetings, but has refused to defend the idea that the US is an inherently racist country.
“I’ve felt the anger, the frustration, the sadness and the humiliation that comes with feeling like you’re being attacked for nothing more than being yourself,” Scott said in 2016, recounting how he was detained seven times in one year.
His candidacy is the second of South Carolina, after Nikki Haley, the country’s former ambassador to the UN.
With this, the electoral list on the Republican side is headed by former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), Haley, the former governor from Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
And although they have not yet made their entry into the race official, DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence or former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie are expected to join the race for the White House.
“Good luck,” was Trump’s response to Scott’s pitch. “The presidential primaries are quickly filling up with a lot of people,” said the former president.
Scott’s preliminary promises
The legislator focused his first political rally on promising to restore hope to the country and guarantee security on the border with Mexico if he comes to power. Thus, he placed special emphasis on his objective of applying a strong hand against “the enemies of the United States” and that he hopes to recover the fundamental values of the North American country.
Democrats have fought to keep our borders open. What they don’t tell Americans is that their policies have caused human trafficking rates to skyrocket, destroying countless lives.
We can end this humanitarian crisis by securing our border.
—Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) May 22, 2023
He also assured that he would be the president to put an end to “the left’s assault on religious freedom” and be in charge of defending “every innocent life”, in an indirect reference to abortion. With these phrases, Scott argued that the left fears him and can be the most dangerous to advance positions within the elections.
On his hypothetical first day in office, he added, he will focus his attention not only on the border, but also on other external threats, such as the one posed by China to the US economy.
With Reuters, EFE and AP
