EXCLUSIVE: A Republican considered to be among the frontrunners in the race to be former President Donald Trump’s running mate is making a major prediction about Black voters as President Biden continues to bleed support among the traditionally Democrat-supporting community.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the only Black Republican in the Senate and a staunch supporter of Trump’s third White House bid, told Fox News Digital on Friday that Biden’s planned weekend campaign swing aimed at shoring up support among the Black community in Georgia and Michigan is actually just about “pandering” to a community worse off under his leadership, and that they would instead show up for Trump in “historic” numbers.
“For 52 consecutive paychecks, Black folks, like the rest of Americans, lost spending power, because inflation was higher than wage increases. What does that mean? It means devastation to single moms like the one that raised me,” Scott said.
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Former President Donald Trump, Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and President Joe Biden. (Getty Images)
“The one thing that we can expect from the Biden administration is more of the same. More misery, more devastation, more catastrophes. That’s one of the reasons why you see so many Black voters shifting to the GOP under Trump. Why? Because Donald Trump delivered,” he said.
The Biden campaign announced early Friday that the president would be attending an event in Atlanta on Saturday focused on engaging Black voters before delivering the commencement at Morehouse College, a renowned historically Black men’s liberal arts college, on Sunday.
The president will then meet with small-business owners in Detroit later on Sunday before delivering an address that evening in Michigan to the NAACP.
Biden’s re-election team highlighted in its announcement that “no administration has delivered for Black America like President Biden and Vice-President Harris.”
“This campaign will not take a single voter for granted,” Biden campaign senior adviser Trey Baker wrote in the memo. “We are not, and will not, parachute into these communities at the last minute, expecting their vote.”
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Senator Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, center, speaks during a campaign event with former U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota, right, in Laconia, New Hampshire, on Monday, January 22, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A slew of polls this spring — both nationally and in the key swing states — have indicated that Trump has gained support with Black voters at Biden’s expense, something Scott said is being driven by the positive economy for Black Americans under Trump’s administration.
“We had the strongest, most powerful and inclusive economy in the history of the country in my lifetime. Unemployment for Black folks [was] under 6% for the first time ever; the wages growing at the bottom faster than the top. He also supported my opportunity zones, bringing nearly $70 billion committed to the poorest communities,” Scott said, referencing his signature legislation that provided more investment opportunities in low-income areas.
“[Biden] sometimes says, ‘You can’t be Black if you don’t vote for me.’ Or he’ll say something as asinine as ‘Republicans want to put you back in chains.’ But last time I checked, the only person restraining Black economic growth is Joe Biden and Bidenomics. So please don’t pander to people smart enough to smell what you’re cooking, and it’s a rat,” he said.
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Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) speaks with reporters at Alex’s Restaurant in South Carolina on April 14, 2023. (Allison Joyce/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“Historic shifts towards President Trump are already happening. Here’s what we know: Without question, the pandering tour is because without the Black vote, there is no Democrat party,” Scott later added.
Scott also addressed Trump’s ongoing trial in New York City, arguing that it is politically driven, as well as the qualities his future running mate needed to possess.
Those traits included “someone who understands the House and Senate,” plus “someone who understands being a business owner in the private sector,” and “someone who understands the pain and the misery of rising from the bottom and going to the top” — all traits Scott himself possesses, considering his upbringing and business experience before his time in Congress.
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“There’s no doubt that it would be such an honor for anyone to even be in the conversation. But this should not be about me or any other potential VP, as they describe us. This should only be about America’s future and who gets us there the fastest. That’s Donald Trump,” Scott said when asked whether he was still open to being Trump’s running mate should he be approached about the role.
“Whatever I can do to make sure we have four more years of Donald Trump, count me in,” he added.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Biden campaign for comment.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.