Sen. Tim Scott, a black South Carolina Republican, says that if anyone is offended at him saying "all lives matter," it's "their issue, not mine."
Appearing Thursday on
CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer," Scott said there has been a regression in race relations in America that isn't being helped when the Black Lives Matter movement gets insulted when someone says, "All lives matter."
"One of the ways we move this country forward is to talk about what we have in common, to find common ground and look into the future together," Scott said. "So if anyone is offended by the fact that I believe that all lives matter, whether they're black or white or they're brown or yellow, then that is something that they have to look into their own hearts."
Scott is hosting a series of town halls in his state with Republican presidential candidates and was asked whether frontrunner Donald Trump's language about illegal immigrants or urging rival Jeb Bush to speak English was hurting the party as it tries to lure more minority voters.
Scott didn't address Trump directly, saying only that his "hyperbole" isn't the language he would use. But he said the GOP is the "big tent" party of the future with two Hispanics and one black candidate in the field of 17.
"We have to be very engaged in making sure we are aspirational about our view of the future and we are bringing America together," Scott said.
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