Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) came on CNN Friday to defend former President Donald Trump over his felony conviction for falsified business records in New York, and was greeted with a blunt fact-check from anchor Phil Mattingly.
Scott, widely considered to be a close contender for Trump's vice presidential running mate, argued that "Lady Justice" wasn't applied blindly, and that the conviction, if anything, will sway Never Trump conservatives to supporting him. But one claim in particular met Mattingly's skepticism.
"I love the passion I'm seeing from the American people, because they're harnessing it," said Scott. "You don't see any riots in the streets like you did a few years ago during the summer of the riots, largest riots in the history of our country with more property damage, you don't see that today. What you see is a focus, a determination to make sure that We the People are heard and seen on November the 5th."
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"That's good news for the country," he added. "And frankly, it restores more confidence that conservatives, when in leadership, you won't see that kind of violence in the streets because we don't like the outcome — we hate this outcome, but we love our country."
"I mean, we, there is — we gotta go, but I mean, there's a natural counter in terms of what took place in your workplace on January 6 because of this, but that certainly hasn't occurred since the verdict," said Mattingly — referencing the insurrectionist attack by Trump supporters on the Capitol to try to stop the certification of Biden's presidency.
Additionally, Scott appeared to be referencing the George Floyd police accountability protests around the country in 2020, some of which escalated into destructive riots — but these riots occurred while Trump was still in office, undercutting his assertion that such violence would not happen under Republican leadership.
Watch the video below or at the link here.
Phil Mattingly corrects Tim Scott's claim violence doesn't happen under Trump www.youtube.com