Tim Scott relishes debate ‘contrast opportunity’ to present conservative ‘commonsense solutions’

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Sen. Tim Scott said he has the “power of persuasion” and will present himself on the debate stage as the “only competent, qualified” candidate to run the country, telling Fox News Digital he will put forth “commonsense solutions from a conservative platform.”

Scott, R-S.C., in an interview with Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the first Republican presidential primary debate of the 2024 election cycle, laid out his plan for Wednesday night.

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“I have to make sure that the American people know that I am the candidate that has the power of persuasion,” Scott said. “And when there is a contrast opportunity on the stage, you should present yourself as the only competent, qualified asset out there.”

Scott said if elected, he will “focus on restoring hope, creating opportunities and protecting the America that we love.”

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Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Tim Scott doubled down on his criticism of Florida’s Black history curriculum in an interview with Fox News Digital. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)

“For me, protecting America means backing the blue. The Democrats wanted to defund the police; we want to re-fund the police,” he said. “We’re gonna focus on closing the southern border… and finally, you have to stand toe-to-toe with China and protect America.” 

Scott told Fox News Digital that there are a number of threats facing the nation.

“The greatest threat to us domestically is this culture of grievance that feels like quicksand sucking us all in,” he said. “And it comes with a drug of victimhood and then narcotic of despair.”

Scott said the greatest “national threat” is the “open southern border.”

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“Closing that southern border will save American lives he said. “And long-term – the greatest existential threat facing America is China.” 

Scott, who sits on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, told Fox News Digital that China is “spying on our kids, buying our farm lands, and stealing our intellectual property to compete against us.”

Sen. Tim Scott speaks at the Republican Party Of Iowa’s annual Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines on July 28, 2023. (Rachel Mummey/Bloomberg via Getty Image)

“As commander in chief, it’s really not about the strength of China or President Xi – it is about the weakness of President Biden,” he said.

Scott told Fox News Digital that “as the next president of the United States, I would focus on decoupling our economies so that we’re more independent in the crucial areas of medicine, microchips and minerals.”

“If we do that, we will find ourselves more resilient and more able to withstand this threat that’s looming that is China,” Scott said. “We also need to invest more resources for our military.”

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“Having the resources, the capabilities and the equipment so that when our men and women go into the theater of war, they come home safe – that should be the primary responsibility of the president of the United States,” he said.

Scott said he can deliver and address all issues facing the nation – citing his experience in the Senate and his record.

“I can tell you that with me on the top of the ticket – the good news is – we’ll have a red wave,” he said. “We’ll control the Senate for the first time in years, we’ll expand our majority in the House.” 

Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina speaks at a town hall at Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics, on May 8, 2023, in Goffstown, New Hampshire. (Fox News)

He added: “And that red wave will give us the margin necessary to simply focus on commonsense solutions from a conservative platform.”

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Ahead of Wednesday night’s debate, Scott told Fox News Digital he will spend the day with his family, specifically his mother, Miss Frances. A campaign official told Fox News Digital the senator will also spend time in prayer in the book of Proverbs and devotionals, and will also set aside some time to go to the gym.

Fox News is hosting the first GOP presidential primary debate on Aug. 23 in Milwaukee. The debate begins at 9 p.m. ET. Rumble is the online live-streaming partner and Young America’s Foundation is also a partner in the first debate.

Brooke Singman is a Fox News Digital politics reporter. You can reach her at Brooke.Singman@Fox.com or @BrookeSingman on Twitter.