Tim Scott would bring ‘the Gospel in operation’ to the GOP ticket

EXCLUSIVE — As it stands, former President Donald Trump is leading incumbent President Joe Biden in both the national polls and in key swing states. Betting markets also have Trump as the 2024 favorite. This makes a White House victory for Trump more likely than it was at any point during the 2016 or 2020 elections, during which Trump was always seen as a long shot. 

As a consequence, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the son of a poor, black single mother in rural South Carolina, is the most likely person to become the next vice president of the United States of America. Long considered a leading contender in the Trump veepstakes, Scott is currently the betting market favorite to be tapped for the role. 

Scott could be seen as a younger, more dynamic version of former Vice President Mike Pence due to his conservative Christian bona fides and governing experience. But unlike Pence, Scott brings the real potential to expand the GOP voting base, particularly among black Protestants, by emphasizing his rags-to-riches personal story centered on faith. 

The Washington Examiner spoke with Scott on Wednesday about the effect his presence could have on the national GOP ticket, particularly among Christians.  

Washington Examiner: You are widely rumored to be on the short list of potential running mates for former President Trump. You just spent the weekend in Mar-a-Lago, and betting markets consider you the favorite for the slot. How would your presence on the ticket solidify the Christian vote?

Scott: I’m a big believer that God has a plan, and the Lord, not just the people, chooses our leaders. What I bring to any conversation about leadership is that I’m someone who is a strong advocate on behalf of Christians and someone who is a strong defender of our beliefs. I’m someone who has lived the American dream and used biblical principles to overcome the challenges in my life, which is incredibly important. 

No. 2, I started small businesses and built those businesses based on the Book of Nehemiah, where we learn that multitasking is a necessary component for human flourishing, especially as a business person. Having a sword in one hand and a brick in the other, I used the Book of Nehemiah to build very successful businesses. We were No. 2 out of 15,000 Allstate agency owners in the country. 

I started a real estate company using the same model, and it’s still running today. The fact of the matter is that when you use biblical principles not as only a shield but as a weapon, you can actually do a lot of good for your community and your country, but most importantly, you can honor the Lord on how you do business. 

So, what I bring to the table is someone who has actually put the Gospel into operation both for heaven but also for earth. 

Washington Examiner: White evangelicals went big for Trump in 2020, while Catholics were split, and black Protestants went heavily for Biden. Why should these groups go with Trump in 2024?

Scott: If you look at the Democrats these past several years, one thing you’ll see is they’ve taken God out of the platform. And if you purge God out of the platform, you take with him biblical principles that have always been universally accepted and that represent the natural law of the universe. When you think about Galatians 6:7 that says, “Whatever a man sows, he shall also reap,” that’s just a law of the harvest. It is undeniable and unbreakable: What you sow, you reap. If you think about Proverbs 22:7 that says, “The borrower is the slave of the lender.” You know what? If our nation had leadership that understood that, maybe we’d have less than $35 trillion in debt. Catholics, evangelicals, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, Native American — all Christians lose under the guiding propositions of the Biden administration. 

But we actually gain under the Trump administration. Think about Matthew 25. In reflecting on “the least of these,” the best way to meet their needs is to have a healthy, prosperous nation where we have more margin in our paychecks and in our schedules. To reinvest in our communities is to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. We meet those needs when we have an abundance of resources. 

The other thing is if you think about the reality of Deuteronomy 30:19, which says, “I give you this choice between blessing and cursing life and death, choose one,” well, I think in this nation, it is a time for choosing. And the choice we make today will either cement the biblical and Judeo-Christian foundation of America or it will further question that foundation. The attack we are seeing on America today comes consistently and primarily from the Left. They are the ones who reinforce that we are not a people created by God or given inalienable rights that come from God. 

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Washington Examiner: This past Sunday, during an appearance on NBC’s Meet The Press, host Kristen Welker attempted to catch you in a “gotcha moment” about accepting the results of election outcomes. The Democrat-friendly news media have repeated the false claim that you “dodged” in your answer. Would you like to set the record straight?

Scott: You have to understand that it’s very hard to prove or disprove something that hasn’t happened. It’s a rebuttal presumption of validity. We should assume our elections are fair. Any assumption otherwise is to assume something you can’t prove because it hasn’t happened. So, ultimately, having to rebut something based on the presumption of an outcome is impossible to do. President Trump has said it and I will continue to say that we expect honest elections in this country. Because of that, my presumption is that elections will be fair. 

Peter Laffin is a contributor at the Washington Examiner. His work has also appeared in RealClearPolitics, the Catholic Thing, and the National Catholic Register.