在前总统巴拉克·奥巴马批评他们在种族关系上的立场后，共和党参议员蒂姆·斯科特和前南卡罗莱纳州州长妮基·黑利进行了反击。
两名南卡罗来纳州共和党人批评奥巴马在总统任期内处理种族问题的方式，唯一竞选共和党总统候选人提名的黑人候选人斯科特在“马克·莱文秀”上认为，奥巴马错过了作为美国第一位黑人总统团结全国的机会。
“让我们不要忘记我们是一片充满机会的土地，而不是一片充满压迫的土地，”斯科特说发微博周四晚上在电台露面后。“民主党人否认我们的进步是为了保护他们的权力。左派希望你相信对美国的信仰是一个骗局，我们国家的进步是一个神话。”
“我生活的真相驳斥了激进左派的谎言。我们生活在一个黑人和棕色人种的男孩和女孩都能成为美国总统的国家。事实是——我们已经有了一个，好消息是——我们还会有另一个，”推特继续说道。
星期五早上，海莉，谁是印度血统，紧随其后，(小鸟)鸣叫、“[奥巴马]把少数群体挑出来，让他们成为受害者，而不是赋予他们权力，这让他们受到了挫折。在美国，努力工作&个人责任问题。我的父母没有让我认为我会永远是一个受害者。他们让我明白，我的成功是我的责任。"
周四早些时候，奥巴马为那些在种族问题上对斯科特和哈利等共和党总统候选人持“怀疑”态度的人辩护，暗示他们对过去和现在的种族不平等视而不见。
“如果有人没有提出建议，无论是承认还是建议，都会说，‘不，我们不能忽视所有这些，假装一切都是平等和公平的。我们实际上必须行动起来，而不仅仅是说说而已。如果他们没有这样做，那么我认为人们有理由怀疑，”他告诉阿克塞尔罗德。
奥巴马说，当共和党人需要正面解决种族不平等问题时，他们会回避这个问题。
“我认为，在共和党内，非洲裔美国人或其他少数族裔候选人会认可美国，并说，‘一切都很好，我们能做到。’我认为妮基·黑利也有类似的做法说周四"大卫·阿克塞尔罗德的斧子文件"
“我不是对蒂姆·斯科特个人冷嘲热讽，但我可能是在暗示‘我们就不能好好相处吗?’...这必须以对我们的过去和现在的诚实描述为基础，”他继续说道，并指出他还没有看到“共和党中有人更认真地实际解决我们社会中仍然存在的一些深刻的不平等。"
斯科特通常以乐观的语气描述美国的种族关系，经常讲述他在南方腹地摘棉花的祖父如何活着看到他的孙子“在国会中挑选一个席位”。
在《观点》的联合主持人乔·贝哈暗示斯科特不理解“非裔美国人在这个国家面临的系统性种族歧视，以及其他少数民族面临的系统性种族歧视”之后，斯科特在节目中予以回击。
“我相信美国可以为任何人做她为我做的事情:恢复希望，创造机会，捍卫和保护我们热爱的美国，这是一个如此重要的组合，”他说说在本月早些时候的《观点》上。
《黑人共和党人的孤独:务实的政治和权力的追求》一书的作者利亚·赖特·里格博士说，黑人共和党人没有多少动力在种族政治上采取更强硬的立场。
“首先要记住的是，对于拥有高排名或高知名度职位的黑人共和党人来说，无论共和党的标准叙事是什么，他们现在都没有回报，”她告诉美国广播公司新闻。“在这方面，我们知道共和党现在的标准是不存在系统性种族主义。”
但斯科特过去曾向种族正义活动人士示好。乔治·弗洛伊德死后，这位参议员来到国会，就他自己的种族经历发表了热情洋溢的演讲。他还在其失败的立法《正义法案》中推动警察改革。
尽管如此，斯科特似乎敏锐地意识到自己在这场讨论中的地位，拒绝在2010年加入国会黑人核心小组。
“虽然我承认加拿大广播公司的努力，并感谢他们邀请我与他们一起参加党团会议，但我这次不会加入。我的竞选从来都不是关于种族的，”他当时说。
根据2021年的一项盖洛普调查，超过60%的美国人认为针对黑人的种族主义在美国普遍存在投票。然而，皮尤2022年的一项研究显示，约三分之二的美国成年人认为，当涉及到针对黑人的种族主义时，个人的种族主义比法律中的种族主义更严重投票说。
Tim Scott, Nikki Haley blast Obama's criticisms of how they handle race relations
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley are pushing back after former President Barack Obama criticized their stances on race relations.
The two South Carolina Republicans dinged Obama for his handling of race during his presidency, with Scott, the only Black candidate running for the Republican presidential nomination, arguing on "The Mark Levin Show" that Obama missed an opportunity to unite the country as America’s first Black president.
"Let us not forget we are a land of opportunity, not a land of oppression," Scott tweeted Thursday night after the radio appearance. "Democrats deny our progress to protect their power. The Left wants you to believe faith in America is a fraud and progress in our nation is a myth.”
"The truth of MY life disproves the lies of the radical Left. We live in a country where little Black and Brown boys and girls can be President of the United States. The truth is - we've had one and the good news is - we will have another," the tweet continued.
And Friday morning, Haley, who is of Indian descent, followed suit, tweeting, "[Obama] set minorities back by singling them out as victims instead of empowering them. In America, hard work & personal responsibility matter. My parents didn’t raise me to think that I would forever be a victim. They raised me to know that I was responsible for my success."
Earlier Thursday, Obama defended people who are "skeptical" of Republican presidential candidates such as Scott and Haley when it comes to race, suggesting they turn a blind eye to past and present racial inequalities.
"If somebody is not proposing, both acknowledging and proposing elements that say, 'No, we can't just ignore all that and pretend as if everything's equal and fair. We actually have to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.' If they're not doing that, then I think people are rightly skeptical," he told Axelrod.
Obama said Republicans skate over racial inequities when they need to tackle the issue head on.
"I think there's a long history of African-American or other minority candidates within the Republican Party who will validate America and say, ‘Everything’s great, and we can make it.' Nikki Haley I think has a similar approach," Obama said Thursday on "The Axe Files with David Axelrod."
"I'm not being cynical about Tim Scott individually, but I am maybe suggesting the rhetoric of 'Can't we all get along?' ... that has to be undergirded with an honest accounting of our past and our present," he continued, noting that he has yet to see "somebody in the Republican Party that is more serious about actually addressing some of the deep inequality that still exists in our society."
Scott typically presents race relations in America with an optimistic tone, often telling of how his grandfather who picked cotton in the deep South lived to see his grandson "pick out a seat in Congress."
After "The View" co-host Joy Behar suggested Scott doesn't understand "the systemic racism that African Americans face in this country, and [faced by] other minorities," Scott went on the show to push back.
"I believe America could do for anyone what she's done for me: restoring hope, creating opportunities, and defending and protecting the America that we love, it's such an important combination,” he said on "The View" earlier this month.
There isn't much incentive for Black Republicans to adopt stronger stances on racial politics, according to Dr. Leah Wright Rigueur, author of "The Loneliness of the Black Republican: Pragmatic Politics and the Pursuit of Power."
"The first thing to keep in mind is that for Black Republicans that have high ranking or highly visible positions, there's no reward right now for them challenging whatever the standard narrative that is of the Republican Party," she told ABC News. “In that respect, we know that the standard for the Republican Party right now is that there is no such thing as systemic racism."
But Scott has made overtures to racial justice activists in the past. In the wake of George Floyd’s death, the senator went before Congress to give a passionate speech on his own racial experiences. He also pushed for police reform in his failed legislation, the Justice Act.
Still, Scott seems keenly aware of his place in the discourse, declining to join the Congressional Black Caucus in 2010.
"While I recognize the efforts of the CBC and appreciate their invitation for me to caucus with them, I will not be joining at this time. My campaign was never about race,” he said at the time.
More than 60% of Americans believe racism against Black people is widespread in the United States, according to a 2021 Gallup poll. However, about two-thirds of U.S. adults believe that when it comes to racism against Black people, racism by individual people is a bigger problem than racism in laws, a 2022 Pew Research poll says.
