Sen. Tim Scott: US can't tear down history for the sake of anarchy
South Carolina GOP Sen. Tim Scott reacts to protesters' attempts to dismantle controversial monuments and statues, violence in Seattle's 'CHOP' zone and the upcoming vote on his police reform bill.
The desire to purge “all of history because it was ugly or negative really does not serve the American people well,” according to Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
“The president’s comments about having stiff terms should send shivers down the spine of these agitators. They’re not a part of any protest, they’re simply agitators and simply trying to find their way to create anarchy, chaos and lawlessness,” Scott told “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday.
Scott said that anarchists' plot is dangerous for every single person in the nation, especially the most vulnerable communities.
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President Trump has blasted “weak” states for allowing the removal of statues and monuments and other images honoring Confederate soldiers, slave owners and other controversial historical figures, which have been torn down in states including Virginia and California – either officially or by the protesters themselves.
The calls for the removal of the statues and monuments come during a public reckoning over the country's past treatment of African-American and other minorities.
Trump made the comment speaking with “Fox & Friends” host Brian Kilmeade in Washington, D.C., on Monday as part of a special on the history of the White House that will air on Sunday.
A clip of that interview aired on “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday. Before the clip aired, Kilmeade noted that more than 100 monuments and plaques have been taken down since May 25.
“I don’t like it at all,” Trump said in response. “I don’t like anything that’s going on.”
Trump said he's stopped the removal of statues and monuments from a federal level.
“I’ve stopped federal, but the states are — a lot of states are weak. A lot of people are weak and they’re allowing it to happen,” Trump continued.
He then pointed out that “it’s going over a little bit around the world now. They want to remove the statue of Gandhi, OK? All he wanted was peace.”
“They want to take down Ulysses S. Grant. Well he’s the one that stopped the Confederates, right? So he was a great general … nobody’s stock went higher than his stock over the last 10 or 15 years,” Trump continued.
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Scott said that the Edmund Pettus Bridge, located in Selma, Ala., preserved the “reality of how vicious people could be.”
“That’s why it was so important to see President Obama and President Bush standing together in unity underneath that bridge to reinforce the fact that in America, all things are possible. In America, we may have flaws, we may have challenges, but we get it together and we come together to overcome those challenges,” Scott said.
“If we want to do something, why don’t you put up a statue of Booker T. Washington. Why don’t you have a conversation about Washington Carver. These would be positive steps. Tearing down history for the sake of anarchy is not how we make progress in this country. It never has been and it never will be, because we are the United States of America.”
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