When South Carolina Republican Sen Tim Scott appeared on Monday’s edition of “The View,” it quickly descended into chaos.
The beginning of the show appeared to be light-hearted as Scott spoke about his 2024 presidential campaign.
However, all hell broke loose when co-host Sunny Hostin asked Scott to define “systemic racism.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin first asked Scott about his life story of overcoming adversity to live the American dream.
But out of nowhere, Hostin hijacked the conversation and became confrontational with Scott about his positions.
“The View” episode became so tense that Goldberg asked the crew for help when she demanded Tim Scott to stop talking so they could cut to commercial.
Below is the partial transcript of the heated exchange:
HOSTIN: “I am actually happy that you’re here. We — we — we have some things in common. You grow up — you grew up in a single-family household, single-mother household; I grew up with both of my parents but raised in the Bronx projects amidst a lot of poverty and — and — and violence. And you were the first black senator elected in the south since the reconstruction, that would be about — I think, about 114 years. Yet you say that your life disproves left—leftist lies. And — and —”
Scott: “Yes.”
HOSTIN: “— my question to you is, I’m the exception, right? You’re the exception. Maybe even Ms. Whoopi Goldberg is the exception but — but —”
HAINES: “She is definitely the exception.”
HOSTIN: “— but we are not the rule. And so when it comes to racial inequality, it persists in — in five core aspects of life in the U.S., economics, education, health care, criminal justice, and housing. At nearly every turn, these achievements were fought, threatened, and erased, most often by white violence. You have indicated that you don’t believe in systemic racism. What is your definition of systemic racism?”
Scott: “Let me answer the question that you’ve answered.”
HOSTIN: “Does it — or does it even exist in your mind?”
Scott: “Yeah. Let me — let me answer the question this way. One of the things I think about and one of the reasons why I’m on the show, is because of the comments that were made, frankly, on this show that the only way for a young African-American kid to be successful in this country is to be the exception and not the rule. That is a dangerous, offensive, disgusting message to send to our young people today, that the only way to succeed is by being the exception. I will tell you that if my life is the exception, I can’t imagine —”
HOSTIN: “But — but it is.”
Scott: “But it’s not actually. Here’s — here’s —”
HOSTIN: “It’s been 114 years.”
Scott: “Yeah. So — so, the fact of the matter is we’ve had an African-American president, African American vice president, we’ve had two African-Americans to be secretaries of state. In my home city, the police chief is an African American who’s now running for mayor. The head of the highway patrol for South Carolina is African-American. In 19 —”
HOSTIN: “Still exceptions.”
Scott: “— in 1975, there was about 15 percent unemployment in the African-American community. For the first time in the history of the country, it is under 5 percent.”
HOSTIN: “It’s 40 percent homelessness —”
Scott: “And 50 percent of the folks —”
HOSTIN: “— of African-Americans, yet — yet 13 percent of the population.”
Scott: “You’ve got the chance to ask a question. I know that — I’ve watched you on the show that you’d like people to be deferential and respectful. So I’m going to do —”
The segment went sour when Scott tried to answer a question from Goldberg.
When Scott began to ask Scott a question, the Republican turned to answer her directly, resulting in him turning his back on Goldberg, Sara Haines, and Ana Navarro.
“That was me talking to you, so I’d love that. Shall I come next to her?” Goldberg angrily snapped as she left her chair to sit next to Hostin.
“Your back looks pretty damn good from here,” Navarro said to Scott.
As Scott began to take, Goldberg apparently had issues diverting the show to commercial, asking the show’s staff for help.
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