Bret Baier: Tim Scott's speech probably best of the night
Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum react to Senator Tim Scott's 'powerful' speech
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo suggested on Monday night that Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and other speakers at the Republican National Convention are "carrying water" for President Trump and drew swift criticism over the remark.
Scott closed the first night of the convention with a powerful speech, addressing his own life story, hitting Joe Biden's controversial remarks stereotyping Black Americans as a monolith, and praising the president's policies that helped elevate the Black community.
However, the anchor didn't appear to be as impressed during a rant about the president's constant "lies."
"Do politicians lie? Of course. Do both parties engage in it? Yes... but not like Donald Trump," Cuomo said. "Nobody lies the way this man does, has, and will, that I've ever seen in politics. So, he's lying to you."
"And these people are all his echo," Cuomo continued. "I mean, one's his son. You know, the other one is his son's girlfriend. So, OK. But Tim Scott. You know, look, they're carrying water for him. You know, Tim Scott was very careful about what he didn't mention."
NBC'S CRAIG MELVIN ASKS SEN. TIM SCOTT IF GOP IS 'USING' HIM AS 'TOKEN'
Cuomo's colleague Don Lemon agreed, noting that Scott "all but avoided" the 2016 convention and mocked how President Trump is now the senator's "best friend."
Cuomo's remarks stirred some backlash on social media, some suggesting the anchor's comments were "racist."
"Surprised Fredo didn't call him an 'Uncle Tom'...the Left hate minorities who dare think for themselves," opinion columnist Rita Panahi wrote, in response to a tweet from Richard Grenell, the former acting DNI head.
"That seems like a racist talking does that mean Obama is carrying Joe Biden’s water," actor Robert Davi asked.
CNN did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
This isn't the first time anchors dismissed Scott's support the president and the Republican Party. In June, NBC News anchor Craig Melvin asked the sole Black GOP senator if his party was "using" him as a "token" following the death of George Floyd.
Scott appeared to laugh at the question and pushed back at the assertion.
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"Well, I am also the only person in my conference who has been racially profiled driving while black," Scott said. "I’m the only one in my conference that’s been stopped seven times in one year as an elected official, perhaps the only one in my conference wearing this Senate pin that was stopped from coming into the building. So if there’s someone in the conference who understands discrimination and profiling, it’s me. It’s the reason why I asked to lead this charge, because it is a personal issue, it is the right issue. And frankly, I think it helps to have someone who's been a victim of this situation and who still has a tremendous respect for where our country can go together."
He continued, "So I shrug those comments and criticisms off. But you’ve got to know, when you’re a black Republican, you’re like a unicorn. People are going to criticize you when you wake up, when you go to sleep, if you say you like apple pie and football, there’s a lot of critics for that, too. So God bless their souls."