Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) said during an interview this week that the Republican Party needs to be more than “tough and loud” in order to win elections.
The Republican presidential candidate made the remarks during a Fox News interview with former Rep. Trey Gowdy when asked if there was “a place for a happy warrior in modern-day politics.”
“Oh, absolutely,” Scott responded. “You can certainly, as you know, Trey, I grew up in some really tough neighborhoods. You’ve gotta be tough to get out of the neighborhoods that I grew up in.”
“The question I keep asking myself is tough enough. And for the Republican party, the answer’s really clear,” he continued. “We’ve lost seven out of the last eight national elections, and 2022 was a disaster. If tough and loud was enough, we’d be winning election after election after election.”
Scott noted that results for Republicans in recent elections have not been good and that he believes it is “time for an optimistic, positive message anchored in conservatism with a backbone.”
“The more you push me, the tougher I get,” he said. “That’s good news from my perspective for the next President of the United States.”
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TRANSCRIPT:
TREY GOWDY, FOX NEWS HOST: Alright. I won’t give you one other observation. I think sometimes people mistake decency and kindness for a lack of resolve. Sometimes people confuse fighting with being cruel. Is there a place for a happy warrior in modern day politics? Can you be a rule follower, be fair in your critiques and still be successful in politics?
SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): Oh, absolutely. You can certainly, as you know, Trey, I, I grew up in some really tough neighborhoods. You’ve gotta be tough to get out of the neighborhoods that I grew up in. The question I keep asking myself is tough enough. And for the Republican Party, the answer’s really clear. We’ve lost seven out of the last eight national elections and 2022 was a disaster. If tough and loud was enough, we’d be winning election after election after election. But our results have unfortunately been exactly the opposite. I think it is time for an optimistic positive message anchored in conservatism with a backbone. The more you push me, the tougher I get. That’s good news from my perspective for the next President of the United States. I look forward to having more conversations, more opportunities to talk about the issues that people in Iowa and New Hampshire are talking about.