This is just embarrassing for Tim Scott
As Donald Trump continues to ban DEI, one can only wonder what Blacks who voted for him think right about now. Tim Scott and Byron Daniels stumped up and down and across the country for Trump. Yet, once he took office, he didn’t take either of them with him. Is anyone really surprised? He used them to try and capture more of the Black vote, but there are plenty of Black folks who don’t like and would never vote for either of them. Many Blacks considered both to be “Uncle Toms,” though Scott seemed to be on the receiving end more than Daniels. Now, in the face of Trump’s dismantlement of anything having to do with minorities, he has finally touched on one of Scott’s pet projects, the Minority Business Development Agency (MDBA). What is Tom – I mean, Tim – Scott doing about it? He’s playing the ultimate Tom by sitting silently by.
According to Raw Story, Scott, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, fought for years to keep this agency alive. Now, his silence speaks volumes. Just as we all suspected, Scott’s fealty to Trump overrides everything, including an agency created to help his people and for which he vigorously fought. Does it not matter to him anymore or is he at such a point in his fealty that he must remain quiet? Raw Story reported that Trump dismantled this agency in a “matter of weeks,” yet Scott remained silent throughout the process.
Trump first required MBDA to cut its staff but later, Politico reported 100% of its staff (approximately 50) was placed on administrative leave or were reassigned to other jobs within the Commerce Department. According to one Commerce employee, no one is left from the department except a deputy secretary, an acting under secretary, and a DOGE employee. Scott wanted so badly to be Trump’s VP nominee, but that was never going to happen. Scott should have known that. As Politico wrote: “His silence underscores the fine line he and other Black conservatives have to walk between their own interests and loyalty to the party as the administration wages a broader war against the government’s diversity-focused initiatives.” Surely, Tim Scott and Byron Daniels don’t honestly believe we now have a level playing field and don’t need the help of these agencies. Watching Trump eliminate anything having to do with diversity and watching incompetent Pete Hegseth wipe away the names of Blacks and women who served this country is painful, but for Scott and Daniels, their silence speaks to their characters.
These are two men who would have done anything to “belong.” They were accepted to a certain point, but when things got serious, Trump had no interest in having either in his cabinet, even though both are likely more competent than half the people he named. Have they noticed that none of them are Black or are they content to remain silent on that as well? Silence may be golden in some instances, but in this one, silence is weakness. Scott’s spokesperson can try to make him look better all he likes, but what he accomplished in the past for people of color is just that – the past.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years