Sen. Tim Scott: Trump needs 'personal connection' with African Americans who battled racism

Show Caption Hide Caption Sen. Scott: Trump must regain moral authority South Carolina Senator Tim Scott told CBS’s Face the Nation that meeting with African Americans could help President Trump regain the “moral authority” he needs to lead the nation.

WASHINGTON – South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott suggested Sunday that President Trump should spend time with African Americans who have dealt with racism so he will have a "personal connection" to their struggles.

Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, said such meetings would help Trump regain the “moral authority” he needs to lead the nation.

“This would be an opportunity for him to become better educated and acquainted with the living history of so many folks from John Lewis to my mother and so many others who have gone through a very painful part of the history of the country,” Scott said.

Scott, who has been critical of Trump's response to the white supremacist rally last week in Charlottesville, Va., said the most important thing going forward is not what Trump says, but what he does.

That is why he needs to try sit down with people like Lewis, a civil rights icon who is now a Democratic congressman from Georgia, he said.

“Without this personal connection to this painful past, it will be hard for him to regain that moral authority,” Scott said.

More: The reality of racism America continues to deny

More: Trump's assertion left wing protesters just as violent as white supremacists in Charlottesville sets off firestorm

Trump’s response to the Charlottesville rally – and the fallout from his comments – dominated the Sunday morning news shows.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Trump argued left-wing groups were just as violent as the white supremacists who staged the demonstration in Charlottesville and claimed there are “very good people” on both sides.

His comments set off a firestorm of criticism from members of his own party and raised questions about his personal views of racial tensions in the country.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., also appearing Sunday on Face the Nation, called Trump’s response to Charlottesville “outrageous.”

“What the president did this week was suggesting there was some moral equivalence in Charlottesville. And that is outrageous,” Kaine said.

Kaine noted that when a young Somali man drove a car into a crowd at Ohio State, Trump called it an act of terrorism.

“When somebody drove a car into a crowd in Barcelona this week, he jumped on it immediately,” Kaine said. “It was an act of terrorism.”

Even as Heather Heyer, a young woman protesting the Charlottesville rally, was killed by a car driven by an alleged white nationalist, Trump responded by saying both sides were responsible for violence, Kaine said.

“Why is he so confused and unclear and unwilling to call out the violent white supremacy that was on such gruesome display in my home state?” Kaine said.

On NBC's Meet The Press, former Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts, a Republican, said Trump’s response to Charlottesville had been inadequate.

“Every president's going to have a ‘right now moment,’” Watts said. “And I think President Trump had a ‘right now moment’ last weekend, and I don't think he responded the right way.”

Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University and a Trump ally, defended the president, even as some of the school’s alumni are reportedly threatening to return their diplomas to protest his continuing support for Trump.

Asked on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos whether he agreed with Trump that there are good people on both sides, Falwell responded, “He has inside information that I don’t have. … I don’t know.”

Falwell conceded Trump could have chosen his words more carefully. “But at least he’s not politically correct,” he said. “He’s not so concerned about rehearsing and focus grouping every statement he makes. And that’s one of the reasons I supported him.”

Falwell said Liberty University alumni who argue his support of Trump makes him – and the university – complicit with Trump’s actions are mistaken.

“My support for the president is his bold and truthful willingness to call terrorist groups by their names, and that’s something we haven’t seen in presidents in recent years,” he said.