Presidential Candidate Tim Scott Speaks at the California GOP Convention
Tim Scott greets the audience at the California GOP convention in Anaheim
ANAHEIM—Tim Scott, candidate for President of the United States, spoke at the California Republican Party convention on September 29, 2023. While other presidential candidates so far during the convention have given lengthy speeches, CAGOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson interviewed Tim Scott in a brief sit-down interview that lasted no more than 15 minutes.
Patterson introduced Scott, who then immediately joined her on stage and shared some initial thoughts. One of his first comments was about education: to win in education, “we are going to have to break the backs of the teacher’s unions,” he explained, upset that the system is “trapping poor kids into failing schools.” He also shared his patriotism by saying, “America is the greatest country on God’s green earth and every single one of us should be proud to be American.”
Presidential candidate Tim Scott walks out into the audience to give his initial remarks at the California GOP convention
Scott and Patterson then sat on stage for an interview-style discussion.
Scott’s Thoughts on the Republican Party
Patterson’s first question for Scott was “how are you feeling about the [presidential] debate?” “Oh it was so much fun,” he replied. He joked that tuning into a wrestling show is great preparation for debates. “We should understand the differences between candidates on the stage. And sometimes that contrast creates a little tension, but tension is actually good for growth. Muscle grows under tension. So we have to make sure that the muscle to fight for the future of this nation is as strong as humanly possible.”
“We’re a coalition party. There’s going to be different ideas,” Patterson remarked. Scott replied, “The one thing about Democrats is that they walk in lock-step. They’re quite tribal. When it comes to voting, they stick together. We as Republicans, we’re more entrepreneurial. We wake up wanting to have a big fight over something…. but then we need to make sure that we rally behind firing Joe Biden. Once we fire Joe Biden, we have to fire Merrick Garland.” He continued his list: “I’m not sure if you all know who Randi Weingarten is [...] but hit the road Jack! And don’t you come back no more, no more, no more. She’s got to go too.”
Next, Patterson asked, “What is the message that you hope to deliver to the Californians that says that you’re the best candidate for 2024?” Scott replied, “Well there’s no doubt that the truth of my life, the stories, the lies of the radical left.” He continued, “I have had the privilege of living the American dream from a single parent household, mired in poverty, in the deep south, where people said ‘this will not work for you. America is not the opportunity that you thought it could be.’’’
Scott then explained that success comes from faith and accountability. “My mother believed that prayer was the key, and faith unlocks the door.” He added, “My minister taught me that personal responsibility was necessary. You can’t blame your dad because he’s not around, don’t blame your mom because she’s working 16-hour days, look in the mirror and blame yourself. … All things are possible in this nation.”
“I have four basic principles. If you’re able-bodied in America, you work. Number two, if you take out a loan, you pay it back. Number three, if you commit a violent crime, you go to jail. And number four, that God made you a man, you play sports against men.”
The Economy
Patterson referenced a poll that said the economy is the number one issue for Californians. She asked how he would get California back on track.
He described his solution to adopt and embrace a “Made in America Plan,” saying, “set America’s energy resources free. Energy not independent, energy dominant.” He claimed that this would create more than three million jobs. “In the last 25 years, we’ve lost over 100,000 factories. Let’s create high-tech manufacturing jobs, bringing home tens of thousands of factories, creating millions of jobs, by using technology and lowering taxes to take our jobs back from China and around the world.”
He shared specific achievements: “In 2017, I wrote the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, one of the three main authors. We lowered taxes from 35% on the corporate side down to 21%. We gave a 20% reduction for small businesses. We repatriated or brought home 1.7 trillion dollars. We took unemployment to the lowest levels for African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians in the history of the country. I created opportunities that brought 70 billion dollars into the poorest communities, and not one red cent was a federal tax dollar.”
The Border
Patterson next talked about the southern U.S. border and her opinion that Vice President Harris has not done a good job with the border. “What would you do differently?” she asked Scott.
He replied without hesitation, “The first thing that you have to do is reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy.” He then said the second thing that must be done is to reinstate Title 42. “COVID is over, but Fentanyl is killing 70,000 Americans. We could have another health emergency like Title 42 that would reinstate lower levels of illegal immigration. The third thing is “to reinstate the asylum policy that requires people to seek asylum in a country contiguous or closer to theirs. That plus closing the border.”
American Education
Patterson asked her penultimate question: “What would you do differently with what is going on in today’s education system?”
Scott said, “parents should have the ability to know exactly what their kids are being exposed to in school.” He talked about helping parents know that they can opt out of electives. “We don’t need CRT; we need ABC. We need to stop indoctrinating our kids and start educating our kids.” Scott explained that only 14% of American children understand history at grade level: “we have to get back to civics and history and mathematics,” he said, adding, “We have to get back to the basics. We are failing our kids. We need to turn that around. Frankly, on day one.”
His solutions: “Break the backs of the teachers unions. Introduce choice: charter, private, public, homeschool.”
How Have You Changed?
The final question was asked of Scott on how he has changed. “I love Americans even more now.” He said, “every place I go, I love New Hampshire, Texas, California… what I run into are people who are strong and resilient who love America and love their neighbors. I also learned that turning off the craziness and the news is good for your soul. Sometimes the less you hear on TV the better you feel about your neighbor.”
He then spoke to identity politics: “America is not a racist country,” he claimed. “The radical left will use any person, any issue, any group to hold on to political power at our expense.” He expounded further on that thought: “There is a force in this country that is insidious and sinister and loves power so much that it will use race and class to polarize our country to maintain their power.”
Scott ended with a positive outlook for the future: “We live in a remarkable country, and it’s about time we celebrate it.”