Tim Scott has tense back-and-forth with New Hampshire voter over support for Trump
The South Carolina senator was one of the GOP candidates who said at Wednesday's debate that he would support Trump in the general election if convicted of crimes.
CONCORD, N.H. — Sen. Tim Scott got into a tense exchange with a 79-year-old retired schoolteacher Friday during a campaign stop, focused on his resistance to criticizing former President Donald Trump.
Scott was making his way through the Windmill Restaurant, a small diner, when customer David Coffey called him over to the booth where he was eating and confronted the South Carolina senator with a question about Trump.
“You don’t stand up to Trump, how are you going to stand up to the president of Russia and China?” Coffey asked.
As Scott tried to talk around the question and Coffey pushed back, Scott said, “Do you want to have a conversation? Or do you want a monologue? I’m happy to listen, but if you want to have a dialogue, I’ll be speaking as well.”
Scott rejected Coffey’s characterization that he is unwilling to stand up to Trump. “The premise of the question is why don’t you stand up to Trump, you’re just wrong that I don’t,” Scott said. “I was one of the few people that actually stood up against those major issues whether it was Charlottesville or other major challenges he had. I’m the guy that stood up and talked about the disagreements that we had.”
At the Republican debate on Wednesday night, Scott was one of six candidates on stage who raised their hand when asked if they would support Trump in the general election should he win the GOP nomination and is also convicted of crimes. Trump faces numerous criminal charges across four indictments this year.
Coffey later called Scott out for not condemning Trump’s actions on Jan. 6. “The president on Jan. 6 wanted to destroy our country, do you agree with that or not?” Coffey asked.
“I do not,” Scott answered, later adding, “I believe that the people who were responsible for threatening my life were the people who were outside the chambers forcing their way into the Capitol.”
“Your leader, your leader of this country did nothing to help you out for two hours,” Coffey shot back.
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http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/tim-scott-tense-back-forth-new-hampshire-voter-support-trump-rcna101885
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