Tim Scott responds to Obamas' criticism of Supreme Court ruling: 'A lie from the pit of hell'

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Tim Scott: America should ‘celebrate’ SCOTUS affirmative action decision

2024 Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott says the Supreme Court deciding to eliminate race-based admissions helps its citizens to be ‘judged by the content of our character, not the color of our skin.’ 

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said Thursday that the Supreme Court's decision to overrule affirmative action in colleges should be celebrated. On "The Faulkner Focus," the 2024 presidential candidate also hit back at former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, who said "my heart breaks" for young people who are "wondering what their future holds" after the decision. Scott said the Obamas and others on the left are pushing lies "from the pit of hell" about opportunity in America.

SUPREME COURT REJECTS AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN RULING ON UNIVERSITIES USING RACE IN ADMISSIONS DECISIONS

TIM SCOTT: Well, the good news is we're going to have another African-American president. His name will be Tim Scott. And this is January 2025. Here's what I would say to America today: that I am excited about who we are as a nation. I'm excited about the progress that we've seen in the rearview mirror. But what excites me the most about America is that when you look at the windshield of our future, it is bright for all of our kids. Unfortunately, the radical left have been co-opted by the teachers' unions. And so making sure that we get back to providing quality education in every single zip code in this nation K through 12 means that with quality education K through 12, your child can go to the most elite colleges in America. If we fix public education, we will make sure that every generation going forward will have access to opportunities. And oh, by the way, I'm not sure that going to an elite university is the path to prosperity. It is actually going as high as your character, your grit and your talent will take you. That means whether you go to Harvard, Charleston Southern, or whether you want to be a plumber or a welder, you too can experience your version of the American dream. 

Barack and Michelle Obama visit the Monastery of Montserrat in Madrid on April 29, 2023. (Europa Press Reportajes via Getty Images)

I'm running for president because I know America can do for anyone what she has done for me. But sending the message that somehow the color of your skin means that you will not be able to achieve your goals from an educational perspective, from an income perspective or family formation, that is a lie from the pit of hell. We will not be judged solely by the color of our skin. That's what the ruling said today. But that is the story of America. That is a story of American progress and we can all celebrate that today. 

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., speaks at his alma mater, Charleston Southern University, in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 22, 2023. (Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The Supreme Court on Thursday handed down a major ruling on affirmative action, rejecting the use of race as a factor in college admissions as a violation of the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.

In a 6-3 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that a "benefit to a student who overcame racial discrim­ination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination."

"Or a benefit to a student whose herit­age or culture motivated him or her to assume a leadership role or attain a particular goal must be tied to that student’s unique ability to contribute to the university. In other words, the student must be treated based on his or her ex­periences as an individual — not on the basis of race," the opinion reads.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION CASE: JUSTICES ALITO, ROBERTS SNAP AT HARVARD LAWYER

Harvard banners hang outside Memorial Church on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Sept. 4, 2009. (Michael Fein/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"Many universities have for too long done just the oppo­site. And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice," the opinion states.

Justice Roberts was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the main dissent, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and in part by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who recused herself from the Harvard case due to her previous role on Harvard's Board of Overseers.

While agreeing with the majority opinion, Justice Thomas wrote a separate concurrence with his own thoughts.  

The decision, he said, "sees the universities’ admissions policies for what they are: rudderless, race-based preferences designed to ensure a particular racial mix in their entering classes. Those policies fly in the face of our colorblind Constitution and our Nation’s equality ideal. In short, they are plainly — and boldly — unconstitutional."

"While I am painfully aware of the social and economic ravages which have befallen my race and all who suffer discrimination, I hold out enduring hope that this country will live up to its principles so clearly enunciated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States: that all men are created equal, are equal citizens, and must be treated equally before the law," Thomas wrote. 

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Fox News' Anders Hagstrom and Tyler Olson contributed to this report.

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