(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) In scathing verbal assaults from multiple fronts, former President Barack Obama has come under intense fire from Republican leaders and the conservative base after delivering a racist critique of GOP presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
“There may come a time where there’s somebody in the Republican Party that is more serious about actually addressing some of the deep inequality that still exists in our society, that tracks race and is a consequence of our racial history. And if that happens, I think that would be fantastic,” Obama claimed on Thursday in a podcast interview with David Axelrod.
Obama’s heated remarks, accusing both Haley and Scott of falsely downplaying America’s racial issues, have sparked an inferno of outrage among Republicans.
Haley, a candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 2024 and former U.N. ambassador, launched a scorching counterattack, accusing Obama of setting minorities back by promoting a victimhood mentality.
“Barack Obama set minorities back by singling them out as victims instead of empowering them. In America, hard work & personal responsibility matter,” Haley said on Friday via Twitter.
Haley declared that Americans value the ethics of hard work and personal responsibility, asserting, “My parents didn’t raise me to think that I would forever be a victim. They raised me to know that I was responsible for my success.”
Haley’s spokesperson, Ken Farsano, echoed his boss’s remarks, accusing Obama of targeting Haley due to his fear of her being the Democrats’ worst nightmare in a general election.
.@BarackObama set minorities back by singling them out as victims instead of empowering them. In America, hard work & personal responsibility matter. My parents didn’t raise me to think that I would forever be a victim. They raised me to know that I was responsible for my…
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) June 16, 2023
Scott, another Republican presidential hopeful and staunch conservative politician, passionately rebuked Obama’s comments, highlighting a deeply entrenched ideological divide.
“Nothing new here, y’all,” Scott said on Friday. “The one thing the radical Left does not want is a Black person in America to be a conservative.
Scott added, “America can come together not because of the color of our skin, but because of the consistency of our value system.”
Let us not forget we are a land of opportunity, not a land of oppression.
Democrats deny our progress to protect their power. The Left wants you to believe faith in America is a fraud and progress in our nation is a myth.
The truth of MY life disproves the lies of the radical… https://t.co/lxbcdDZKJ9
— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) June 15, 2023
Adding fuel to the fire, Fox News contributor Guy Benson condemned Obama’s criticism as “classic” and “gross,” attributing it to the former president’s disdain for Haley and Scott’s conservative policies.
Benson’s harsh rebuke encapsulated the sentiment among Obama’s detractors, who perceived his critique as nothing more than a calculated attempt to undermine conservative candidates.
“I think Barack Obama thinks we’ll be forever chained to the racism of our past. Tim Scott really thinks we’re a good country that can become a great country,” Trey Gowdy told Fox News. “If you like contrast, that’s a pretty stark contrast for people.”
