Sen. Tim Scott says Capitol rioters have to take responsibility when pressed by CBS on Trump's role
Sen. Tim Scott, R-SC, sounded off on the FBI's Mar-a-Lago raid, the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and other issues on 'CBS Mornings' Tuesday.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said President Trump should have been more careful with his words when pressed on his role around the Jan. 6 Capitol riot on "CBS Mornings" Tuesday, but added the responsibility for his supporters' actions falls on those individuals.
"Every person has the responsibility of taking fully the decisions that they make and being responsible for those decisions," he said, adding, "I think giving that to anybody other than the individual is giving that individual a pass."
Host Gayle King pressed Scott further, asking if Trump has any fault surrounding the uproar at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
"But does the president have responsibility too, Senator?" she asked.
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Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., questions Chris Magnus as he appears before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his nomination to be the next U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Oct. 19, 2021. Rod Lamkey/Pool via REUTERS (Rod Lamkey/Pool via REUTERS)
"Of course," Scott responded, adding, "I would say we all have the most responsibility for our own words."
"This is easy for us to put the blame on someone else," he added.
King earlier remarked that Trump had yet to "take responsibility" for the riot and cited rioters who claimed they went to the Capitol that day because the former president called them there.
"Doesn't the president have power? Don't his words have power, and shouldn't he be more careful with his words?" King asked.
Tim Scott 'America: A Redemption Story.' (Thomas Nelson)
"Yes," Scott responded, dismissing King's subsequent notion that Trump knew his supporters were armed.
"I don't think anyone knows that the crowd was armed when the call to come to the Capitol was put out there," he said.
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During the appearance, Scott reflected on his own experiences during the riot, recalling that he searched for any item to defend himself against those who broke into the Capitol, and went on to promote his new book "America: A Redemption story," where he dives deep into his ties to former President Trump, his experiences at the Capitol and his backstory that led him to the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina meets voters in Summerville, South Carolina, in November 2021. The Republican senator is running for re-election this year. (Tim Scott re-election campaign )
He also touched on the controversial FBI raid of the former president's residence at Mar-a-Lago, saying the focus remains on Trump because he is the "most powerful" political figure in the U.S.
When asked about alleged partisanship among the FBI, Scott answered that partisanship concerns have surfaced in the past.
"There have been a lot of questions before this raid about whether the FBI is doing its job apolitically, and we don't know the answer to that yet," he said.
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"This is going to raise more questions. In my opinion, we need to let this play out… but we all should have been stunned, surprised and shocked by what happened yesterday," he said.
Scott added that the grounds for the investigation should have "considerable magnitude" or the development could leave a "very big mess."
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