Tim Scott Counters Biden on Racial Issues, Spending Plans

Sen. Tim Scott (R., S.C.) countered President Biden’s call for the country to unify around sweeping new government programs, saying that the Democratic president and his party aren’t reaching for common ground but are instead “pulling us further and further apart,” particularly on racial issues.

But Mr. Scott’s major theme was race, which spans topics including policing, spending and voting that are prompting sharp debate in Congress and the country.

“Today kids are being taught that the color of their skin defines them again, and if they look a certain way they’re an oppressor,” Mr. Scott said. “From colleges to corporations to our culture, people are making money and gaining power by pretending we haven’t made any progress at all, by doubling down on the divisions we’ve worked so hard to heal.”

“My friends across the aisle seem to want the issue more than they want the solution,” he said.

Mr. Scott also challenged Mr. Biden’s efforts to take credit for the vaccination of a large swath of the country and said the Democratic leader hadn’t built on the hope offered by the waning of the pandemic.

“This administration inherited a tide that has already turned,” Mr. Scott said. “Job openings are rebounding. So why do we feel so divided, anxious? A nation with so much cause for hope should not feel so heavy laden.”

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