During a hostile interrogation of South Carolina Senator Tim Scott on Thursday’s CBS This Morning, Democratic Party donor co-host Gayle King dismissed criticism of Joe Biden leveled at the Republican National Convention and instead claimed that President Trump “has contributed to the chaos that we’re seeing in the streets.” She went on to further accuse the President of stoking racial tensions.
“The through-lines seemed to be law and order last night. And they were talking about, ‘In Biden’s America there will be no law and order,’” King remarked in reference to the RNC. Upset that her candidate was under fire, the partisan anchor lashed out at Trump: “But here we sit in the Trump administration’s law and order, and people could say there’s no law and order in the streets, too – now. How can they make the argument when some people believe that the President has contributed to the chaos that we’re seeing in the streets?”
Senator Scott called out King’s blatant double standard: “Well, I think that anyone that tries to make what we’re seeing in Minneapolis or now in Kenosha into an issue with President Trump would not do so during the Obama years when we had the Walter Scott shooting or the Dylan Roof shooting.”
Urging that the nation “get to the root of the issue,” Scott quoted the family pastor of Jacob Blake, the African-American man shot by police in Wisconsin: “And as the pastor who prayed before the news conference for the family said, ‘This is a sin issue, not a skin issue.’” King then cut him off:
But that’s why, Senator Scott, it’s hard to not say that it’s a skin issue. You know, you have to look at the tape last night of – let me – just hear me out for a second. The young white teenager that had that assault rifle who’s walking down the street, who the crowd is saying has just shot Black Lives Matter protesters, the police actually give him a bottle of water. Here is Jacob Black [sic] who was going into his car, he is unarmed, he does not have a weapon on him at the time. The police officer is holding his shirt, he’s shot seven times and is probably paralyzed. This keeps happening, Senator Scott. You have written yourself about being stopped as a black man on Capitol Hill because of the color of your skin. How are you processing this?
In response, Scott made reference to King’s Black Lives Matter advocacy earlier in the show: “As I said, I was frustrated. I know you’re more frustrated than I, I’ve been watching you all morning. So I know your frustration – ” She interrupted him again: “It’s not frustration, Senator, it’s pain. It’s pain. It’s pain, don’t misunderstand.”
In the 7:00 a.m. ET hour, King launched into a rant defending the radical Black Lives Matter movement and even seemed to excuse rioting in American cities:
This is what is so frustrating when you talk about the Black Lives Matter movement. You know, where people are saying “black lives matter, too.” You know, all lives matter, but it seems that black life is not valued in this country. And that’s why this is so upsetting to me. You know, they talk about a knife in his possession. We should point out that the knife was in the car underneath the floor mat. So when they shot him, when they shot him while they’re holding his shirt, they did not know anything about the knife. He did not have the knife on his possession at that time. It was in the car. And every time I look at that video, which is becoming harder and harder to look at, I feel that those could be the last steps that he will ever take in his life because they’re saying that he’s probably going to be paralyzed. It’s just – it’s so unfair and it’s so mischaracterized about what is happening. You when you look at the Black Lives Matter movement, you’ve got to look at the cause of why this is happening. These aren’t people just going crazy in the streets for no reason. It’s too much to me.
Later in the contentious exchange with Scott, King began a question by complimenting the First Lady: “You know, I think Melania Trump did an excellent job in trying to unite the country.” However, it was predictably just a precursor to slamming Trump once again:
Do you think the President is capable – and I ask this, Senator Scott, with all due respect, because one of the first speakers he had that night was the white suburban couple who held a gun on unarmed black protesters. And then it sort of – laying down the foundation that you are not safe in the suburbs because you will have marauding people going in the suburbs taking over the suburbs. Do you think that white people are not safe in suburbs? Because that seems to be the message that is being not so subtly put out into the ether during this time.
Of course there was no acknowledgment of the far-left Democratic base was to defund police or left-wing politicians failing to take action to quell the violence in cities across the country. When Republicans are interviewed by Gayle King, they know they squaring off against the political opposition, not a journalist.
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Here is a full transcript of the August 27 interview:
8:39 AM ET
MIKE PENCE: This is a serious storm, and we urge all those in the affected areas to heed state and local authorities. Stay safe, and know that we’ll be with you every step of the way to support, rescue, respond, and recover in the days and weeks ahead. That’s what Americans do.
GAYLE KING: That’s Vice President Mike Pence, who last night delivered a message of support to those in the path of this very devastating Hurricane Laura. The third night of the Republican National Convention focused on the theme, “The land of heroes,” and included speeches from military veterans and police officers.
Now, this comes as at least 500 members of the National Guard were deployed in Wisconsin overnight as protests continue over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott spoke about President Trump’s agenda on racial issues during his RNC speech on Monday, and he joins us this morning to discuss. Senator Scott, it’s good to see you again. You know, last night –
SEN. TIM SCOTT [R-SC]: Good morning, Gayle.
KING: Good to see you. The through-lines seemed to be law and order last night. And they were talking about, “In Biden’s America there will be no law and order.” But here we sit in the Trump administration’s law and order, and people could say there’s no law and order in the streets, too – now. How can they make the argument when some people believe that the President has contributed to the chaos that we’re seeing in the streets?
SCOTT: Well, I think that anyone that tries to make what we’re seeing in Minneapolis or now in Kenosha into an issue with President Trump would not do so during the Obama years when we had the Walter Scott shooting or the Dylan Roof shooting. This is not a political issue, this is an issue of the heart...
KING: Agreed.
SCOTT: ...and this is an issue that we need to solve. In looking at the video – looking at the video, I saw no justification whatsoever for those cops to shoot that young man, Jacob. And so we need to get to the root of the issue. And as the pastor who prayed before the news conference for the family said, “This is a sin issue, not a skin issue.” Though it seems to be happening far more often to folks who are African-American than not. That frustrates me, to be honest with you, Gayle. I –
KING: But that’s why, Senator Scott, it’s hard to not say that it’s a skin issue. You know, you have to look at the tape last night of – let me – just hear me out for a second. The young white teenager that had that assault rifle who’s walking down the street, who the crowd is saying has just shot Black Lives Matter protesters, the police actually give him a bottle of water. Here is Jacob Black [sic] who was going into his car, he is unarmed, he does not have a weapon on him at the time. The police officer is holding his shirt, he’s shot seven times and is probably paralyzed. This keeps happening, Senator Scott. You have written yourself about being stopped as a black man on Capitol Hill because of the color of your skin. How are you processing this?
SCOTT: As I said, I was frustrated. I know you’re more frustrated than I, I’ve been watching you all morning. So I know your frustration –
KING: It’s not frustration, Senator, it’s pain. It’s pain. It’s pain, don’t misunderstand.
SCOTT: Obviously I’ve been watching you and listening to you all morning. So it may be pain, but it’s also frustration, and frankly, I think many of us should be frustrated by what we see on the screens. If you’re not frustrated, I don’t know why. I certainly am frustrated by what I’m seeing on screen. What I would say is this, though – the reason why I say this is a sin issue not a skin issue, is A, I’m quoting the pastor of the family who spoke. Number one. Number two, the incidents that we’re seeing around the country are not new. These are not new issues.
Thank God for video, we’re getting to see the issues for the first time and we’re responding to it at a higher level because we now are having it reinforced by video. I think that is a terrible thing, yet a good thing, because it’s a good thing because these have been the complaints of African-Americans for generations. Now we’re having a chance to solve some of these issues.
And that’s one of the reasons why I’m still at the table working with Karen Bass and other members of the CBC on police reform because I believe we can make a difference working together to solve these problems. And if we do that, we’ll see fewer of these incidents, we’ll have more training, more police cameras, which will be very helpful, we’ll have more de-escalation training, which will be helpful. We can save lives by not allowing the issue of police reform to become a political issue. It has to be an issue where people of good intention come together and solve problems so that you and I will be less frustrated when we’re talking to each other on CBS This Morning.
KING: Yes, I actually look forward to that day. We keep hearing, you know, it’s a couple of bad apples. You know, last time I checked, an apple never killed anybody. It really is time to have a real, frank conversation in this country, black, white, Democrat, and Republican, about what we need to do about policing in this country. And I know that you have tried. I know that you have tried and you put – you presented a bill –
SCOTT: I’m not finished.
KING: Okay, I’m glad to hear that. Let's talk about the convention tonight.
SCOTT: I’m going to continue. Yes, ma’am.
KING: Let’s talk about your convention tonight. What do you expect to hear from the President this evening? What do you think we all need to hear?
SCOTT: Well, I hope he starts with Kenosha and the hurricane. These are two major incidents or issues that are overwhelming good people throughout this country and our folks and our attention is there. And I think he has to touch on pandemic as well. But I hope that he also looks to our future and talks about bringing this nation together and making sure that we return to the pre-COVID-19 economic success and social cohesion. If we hear those messages, I think we’ll be in good stead for what we hope to see in October, which is the race closing and becoming more competitive. That's the kind of performance that we need to see. I think the First Lady did a very good job...
KING: She did.
SCOTT: ...of talking about learning from people who are not like you. That tone that she set, I hope is mimicked or followed, should I say, by the President.
KING: You know, I think Melania Trump did an excellent job in trying to unite the country. Do you think the President is capable – and I ask this, Senator Scott, with all due respect, because one of the first speakers he had that night was the white suburban couple who held a gun on unarmed black protesters. And then it sort of – laying down the foundation that you are not safe in the suburbs because you will have marauding people going in the suburbs taking over the suburbs. Do you think that white people are not safe in suburbs? Because that seems to be the message that is being not so subtly put out into the ether during this time.
SCOTT: Yes, you asked two questions in two different areas. Number one, I think the –
KING: Well, I know you can multitask. I know you can handle them both. Go ahead.
SCOTT: Yes, ma’am. I’m just excited that you have so much confidence in me, thank you very much. [Laughter]
KING: You’re welcome.
SCOTT: First, I would say there’s no doubt that the suburbs are safe. Number one. Number two, can the President deliver on the message, the answer is yes. The truth is that we have made tremendous strides in the right direction. And I hope that we continue to do so. I’ve often quoted from John Lewis, my good friend, who told me, as a young rookie, to never let bitterness overwhelm our life because it poisons me, not the people that I’m focused on. And so, I think it’s really important for us to remember that today and every day. And frankly, his approach to nonviolent protest is one of the reasons why I’m able to be a United States senator today, because he paid such a high price. I hope that we remember the heroes of America, to not – not to put them to the side, but right now we need to crystallize and focus on moving forward and confronting those issues and those people who are in the way. If we do both, we’ll have a better America tomorrow than we have today.
KING: NBA players announced yesterday they’re going to boycott, they boycotted the games last night. They’re having a meeting this morning. Quickly, do you support that boycott?
SCOTT: Well, listen, I think it’s a nonviolent boycott. Sterling Brown personally had some interactions that were very unfair. I think that you can’t expect them to do anything other than to be heard. You can look back at Muhammad Ali or the 1960s with our Olympic heroes, raised their hands. There’s a way to do it in a nonviolent way, for those like me who don’t want violence. This is one of the ways that they can do it. You don’t have to agree with it, but it certainly is a nonviolent protest.
KING: Senator, thank you. We should also say nobody I know wants violence or looting. Nobody. Thank you very much for joining us today.
SCOTT: Yes ma’am. You have a great day.
KING: I know I’ll see you again. You can watch our prime time coverage of the Republican National Convention tonight at 10:00 Eastern, 9:00 Central.
