FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is launching a new video series with several Black House Republican lawmakers in which the men discuss race and politics in America.
The new series, “America’s Starting Five,” comes as Scott is being considered by former President Trump as a potential running mate in his race for the White House.
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Reps. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, Byron Donalds, R-Fla., John James, R-Mich., and Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, join Scott for the weekly video series. The episodes are billed as “a series dedicated to Black Republican voices.”
The first episode features an informal roundtable conversation between Scott, Owens, Hunt and James as they react to infamous clips of President Biden discussing Black people.
The lawmakers laughed as a video rolled of Biden telling Black radio host Charlamagne tha God, “Well, I tell you what. If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black.” His appearance on “The Breakfast Club” took place in the summer of 2020, just months ahead of the election.
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“Here are four non-Black Black people,” Scott joked while gesturing to himself and his co-hosts. “An old white dude telling me I can’t be Black if I don’t vote for him.”
Hunt remarked, “I’ve been Black for a very long time.” Scott replied, “I’ve been Black longer than you, though.”
The freshman congressman from Texas is 42. Scott is 58.
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“Leftists label Black Conservatives as ‘oxymorons’ and ‘tokens,’ because we dare to think for ourselves and believe in secure borders, a strong economy, good schools, and safe communities,” Owens told Fox News Digital in a statement. “I am proud to stand with Senator Scott and Congressmen Donalds, Hunt, and James in fighting these divisive narratives and returning our country to America’s values of Faith, Family, Free Market, and Education.”
According to Scott’s team, the series has been in the works between the lawmakers’ teams and the Republican National Committee for several weeks and is part of a larger GOP effort to reach Black voters. The videos, which showcase the Republicans discussing current events and joking among each other, are meant to replicate the atmosphere of a casual meeting place among Black men. The designers of the series drew inspiration from the integral role that barbershops play in the Black community as welcoming spaces for social interactions among Black men.
Scott also put a focus on reaching Black voters in the lead up to his 2024 presidential campaign. Before officially launching his bid, Scott released a video in February 2023 that followed the senator to his lifelong barbershop in North Charleston, S.C. “Y’all know I’d be lost without my barber, Charles Swint, Jr.,” he said in a post with the video to X, formerly known as Twitter. “His family has been running the local Barber Shop since 1946 and his advice on faith and family is always close to my heart. No matter how long I’m away, it always feels like home.”
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Scott’s series centering around cultivating the Black Republican experience comes as Trump has made his consideration of the senator as his 2024 running mate known. Trump said in February, “I have a lot of good people. I have a lot of good ideas,” in response to a question about his potential vice president. He specifically named Scott and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, in an interview with Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo.
“I watched him in the last week, defending me and sticking up for me and fighting for me. I said, ‘Man, you’re a much better person for me than you are for yourself,'” Trump remarked of Scott at the time.
Both Scott’s series and the speculation of his potential to be Trump’s running mate coincide with receding support for President Biden among Black voters. Republicans have been vocal about their hope to take advantage of the opportunity presented by Biden’s shortcomings with the Black community.
