Tim Scott is a disappointment. For years, I’ve tried to give him credit for taking a stand against racism from within the Republican Party, when he stood against a couple of nominees for Federal judgeships because of their racist actions. Scott rallied together a couple of his friends, including Marco Rubio, another disappointment, and blocked a couple of Trump nominations in committee. That was 2018, when Tim Scott took a stand against racism. Scott can take credit for blocking two racist Federal judges, but he helped approve 232 others, many with similar racist views. From my viewpoint, 2018 was the last time he fought on behalf of Black people, instead of selling them out.

By April 28, 2021, Scott proved how far gone he was when he addressed the nation following Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address. Even as he described the racism he’s faced, even as a member of the Senate, he told the nation, “America is not a racist country!” He permitted white America to implement racist policies, including the voter suppression laws, which were important enough for him to stand against in 2018.

From 2018 until a few days ago, Tim Scott hasn’t taken a single public stand against racism, especially within the Republican Party. Then Trump did something that even Scott found to be too much. Scott has spent the last eight years so far up Trump’s ass that only Lindsey Graham could find him. But when Trump posted a video on Truth Social, ending with photos portraying Michelle and Barack Obama as apes, even Scott had to say something. He wrote on X:

“Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House," said Scott. "The President should remove it.”

Even in his supposed criticism, Scott was protecting Trump and his white nationalist cohort from the criticism they deserve.

But Scott tipped his hand by saying the ape photos were the “most racist thing” he’d seen, acknowledging he’d previously seen racism from the White House, although he’d never said a word. As heinous as the Obama ape portrayals were, they were the equivalent of name-calling. The Obamas are grown and will continue to go high when faced with Trump's low class rhetoric. Far worse are Trump's actions that have harmed millions of people of color, and Scott witnessed them all. Here are twelve examples.

1. The “Muslim Ban” (2017)

Executive Order 13769 restricted entry from several Muslim‑majority countries. Civil‑rights groups, immigration scholars, and multiple federal judges criticized it as discriminatory toward Muslims.

2. Ending DACA Protections (2017)

The attempt to end protections for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. by Latino advocacy groups and civil‑rights organizations criticized children as disproportionately harmed by young immigrants of color.

3. Family Separation Policy at the Border (2018)

The “zero tolerance” policy separated thousands of children — overwhelmingly Latino — from their parents. Human‑rights groups and pediatric associations condemned it as racist and inhumane.

4. Response to Charlottesville (2017)

After a white supremacist rally killed Heather Heyer, Trump said there were “very fine people on both sides.” This was widely criticized as equating white supremacists with anti‑racist protesters.

5. Attempt to Add a Citizenship Question to the Census (2019)

Civil‑rights groups argued this would suppress Latino and immigrant participation, reducing political representation for communities of color.

6. Attacks on Four Congresswomen of Color (“The Squad”) (2019)

Trump told them to “go back” to the countries they came from — even though three were born in the U.S. This was condemned across the political spectrum as echoing racist nativist language.

7. “Shithole Countries” Comment (2018)

In an immigration meeting, Trump reportedly referred to African nations and Haiti as “shithole countries.” The remark was condemned globally as racist.

8. Ending Obama‑Era Fair Housing Rules (2020)

The administration rolled back the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule. Housing advocates said this weakened protections against racial segregation.

9. Attacks on Black Lives Matter Protesters (2020)

Trump repeatedly described BLM protesters as “thugs” and “terrorists.” Civil rights groups criticized this as criminalizing Black political expression.

10. Restricting Federal Diversity and Anti‑Bias Training (2020)

An executive order banned federal contractors from conducting diversity or anti‑racism training that mentioned systemic racism. Civil‑rights organizations called it an attempt to silence discussions of racial inequality

11. Ending USAID to African Countries

Ending USAID to African countries triggered a continent‑wide humanitarian, economic, and public‑health crisis, with millions pushed toward poverty, health systems destabilized, and entire sectors — like Kenya’s startup economy — thrown into decline. African governments are scrambling to fill the void, but the scale of the cuts makes full recovery extremely difficult. The abrupt end of U.S. aid will mean more Africans will die from preventable diseases, hunger, and the collapse of basic health systems. No major organization has published a projected death toll — but every global‑health indicator shows that the sudden collapse of U.S. aid will lead to more preventable deaths across Africa. The only uncertainty is how many.

12. Erasing Black History and Undermining Anti-Racism Efforts

This administration created the 1776 Commission, which historians across the political spectrum criticized for minimizing slavery’s central role in U.S. history, reframing racism as an overemphasized narrative, and promoting a “patriotic education” that downplayed Black struggle. Trump’s efforts to undermine DEI are, in fact, reversing attempts to level the playing field for women and minorities.

I stopped providing examples not because there are no more, but because you already know who Trump, Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, and the rest are, and what they stand for. As for Scott, he’s an enabler, an appeaser who stood up once in 2018 but not since. Maybe a day will come when America isn’t a racist country. But Scott will have contributed nothing towards reaching that goal.