Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) became the most high profile Republican to rebuke Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his state’s recently unveiled public school curriculum, which teaches that enslaved people in America benefited from the arrangement because they sometimes learned useful skills. Scott, a 2024 contender who is Black himself, made the comments at an event with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds Thursday. “As a country founded upon freedom, the greatest deprivation of freedom was slavery. There is no silver lining in slavery,” he said, according to NBC News. “What slavery was really about was separating families, about mutilating humans and even raping their wives. It was just devastating,” Scott added. “I would hope that every person in our country—and certainly running for president—would appreciate that.” Scott suggested people have “bad days,” and we should “ask them again to clarify their position.”
NEW: Tim Scott tells reporters in reaction to DeSantis saying Black people benefited from slavery, “There is no silver lining in slavery… People have bad days. Sometimes they regret what they say, and we should ask them again to clarify their positions.” pic.twitter.com/SGfefU6IZq
