Once a primary opponent of former and potentially future President Donald Trump, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) has since endorsed the Republican frontrunner is now on the campaign trail as a top surrogate, especially when it comes to Trump looking to earn support from black voters. If there's one characteristic people know about Scott, it's likely that he's a Christian, and one who is often sharing relevant Scripture. While he sought to do that during his interview with "Face the Nation," that's not what viewers saw from CBS News.
Host Robert Costa had asked Scott about how Nalin Haley, the adult son former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who is still in the race, referred to the senator as "Judas" for endorsing Trump.
"What's your response to Nalin Haley and to Nikki Haley, who has not really disavowed that comment, though she's kind of shushed her son from time to time," Costa asked.
For anyone watching on CBS News online, Scott's answer consisted of "well here--here's what I'd say. Politics makes people and their families desperate. It's unfortunate for a person with a high caliber of an individual that she has been, to stoop down to having her and her family refer to me or anyone else as Judas Iscariot, or any other name calling." He then went on to say that "but it's not about me, frankly, it's about the American people. So I--I hope that they get back to focusing on the underlying issues."
The "Face the Nation" X account went with sharing such a clip when it comes to Scott's remarks.
"Politics makes people and their families desperate," @SenatorTimScott says about Nikki Haley and her son, who called Scott "Judas" for supporting Donald Trump in South Carolina's GOP primary. pic.twitter.com/qSdtmmC2me
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) February 18, 2024
In reality, there was a significant chunk of Scott's response missing. According to the full interview shared to the program's YouTube account, and the official CBS News transcript, Scott went for a Biblical application as well.
Right after he called Nalin Haley's remarks "unfortunate," Scott also went on to stress a point he really wanted to make. "The one thing I will say to your viewers, when you are attacked, please remember this, do not take criticism for someone you would not take advice. And in addition to that, because I am going to church in a little while, Matthew 5:44 reminds us to pray for those who persecute you, and to love your enemies, we have to find in our hearts the way of forgiveness. I--I know that they're in a heated race. I know that it's not going their way, they--they're going to lose their home state. There'll be a devastating loss here in South Carolina. It was a devastating loss in New Hampshire, there's not a state coming forward that she's going to win. So I get the name calling," Scott also offered, just before he added "but it's not about me, frankly..."
If CBS News was going to cut down any part of the interview, it would seem that the one part to not cut would be the point that Scott wished to emphasize most, as made clear by him framing it as "the one thing I will say to your viewers..."
Not only does it censor Scott and hide the Bible, it also makes the primary race uglier than it needs to be. When it comes to another moment where Scott has sought to make things less ugly, he was invited to the podium for Trump's victory speech after he won the New Hampshire Republican Primary last month.
Trump told the senator "you must really hate her," speaking about Haley, as he also pointed out that she appointed Scott in 2013, and yet the senator still endorsed Trump over her. "I just love you," Scott replied.
Donald Trump: Nikki Haley "appointed you Tim...and you're the senator of her state...You must really hate her!"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 24, 2024
Tim Scott: "I just love you!" pic.twitter.com/3hCgNWk10m
When it comes to the "devastating loss" that Scott spoke about, New Hampshire was seen as a state Haley could potentially win, though she still lost. Trump won a historic 176,384 votes at 54.4 percent, while Haley came in second with 43.2 percent of the vote. In her home state of South Carolina, where the primary is on Saturday, Trump is ahead of Haley by 31 points.
Scott, as Costa pointed out in the interview when asking about certifying election results, is in consideration to be Trump's running mate.
CBS News isn't the only outlet to cut someone sharing key points about the Christian faith. As Matt covered last month, NBC News cut out Houston Texans' CJ Stroud praising God in his post-game interview after winning against the Cleveland Browns, 45-14.
Scott's full response to Costa's question appears in the YouTube video below.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member