COLUMBIA, S.C. — U.S. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina says he supports sending more aid to Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel, as the Senate prepares to vote on the aid package approved by the U.S. House.
Scott talked to News19's Andrea Mock Monday about the bill, his thoughts on the border, and rising anti-Semitism.
The $95 billion aid package includes about $26 billion for supporting Israel's war on Hamas and providing humanitarian relief for people in Gaza and $61 billion will go to help forces in Ukraine. It passed the U.S. House Saturday, with House Speaker Mike Johnson saying that the U.S. would rather send bullets then boys to support Israel and Ukraine.
"The support of Israel is standout from my perspective, a necessary component to a peace in the Middle East, giving the resources so they can replenish their weaponry, and stay on the offensive I think is incredibly important," Scott said. "[And] Anytime we can achieve our goal of decimating the Russian military, with the incredibly expensive Ukrainian blood, and American dollars, I believe we're achieving our objective, keeping our men and women in the uniform in the military at home, as opposed to in harm's way."
Since the war in Gaza began, there's been a rise in anti-Semitism, including on college campuses, something Scott feels needs to be addressed.
"Jewish students don't feel safe, and they certainly can't study and peace and the administration on the campus silent," Scott said. "It only reinforces the importance of Americans, all of us who stand for fairness, we need to stand in the gap for our Jewish brothers and sisters. They shouldn't do it alone. It's our responsibility to do the right thing. And standing for our Jewish brothers and sisters and students is just the right thing to do."
One of the issues not addressed by the funding bill was border security, something Scott has been outspoken about, being a vocal critic of the Biden Administration's actions since the President took office. Scott, a staunch supporter of former President Trump's run for the White House this year, said he believes the only way to fix the problem is to bring Trump back to office .
"Having a president who will close our southern border, doubling our border patrol agents, and using the resources of the remain in Mexico policy is once again the policy of our nation and cooperation with Mexico, it's the right thing to do," he said.
And his support for Trump doesn't just extend to policy; it also includes defending him as Trump's trial is underway in New York on allegations that Trump paid hush money to a money to keep their affair quiet. Echoing the comments of the former president, he said he believes the prosecutors in the case have been unfair in their treatment of Trump.
"When you watch prosecutors who have run for office with the objective of keeping the former president off of the campaign trail, that is a two tier justice system, when that same DA, [[Manhattan District Attorney Alvin] Bragg says he's for no cash bail bonds, he's for letting violent criminals go free. That tells you that instead of focusing on safety and security for the people within his jurisdiction, he's going to instead focus on a partisan vendetta against the former president," Scott said.