EXCLUSIVE: The Senate’s ‘joyful warrior’ challenges Christians to be ‘aggressive warriors’ 

Sen. Tim Scott has long described himself as a “joyful warrior.” Days before the midterms, the South Carolina Republican is urging Christians to be “aggressive warriors” for their faith.

“I think everyone’s attacking Christianity because Christians have made it easier to attack us,” Scott told Heartlander News Tuesday in an exclusive interview. “I think we ought to be aggressive warriors for our faith.”

The longest-serving African American senator in U.S. history and the only African American Republican in the chamber is leading the party’s midterm campaign as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

In a role he’s previously described as “the one job in all of politics no man in his right mind would ever want,” Scott’s been on the midterms campaign trail with President Donald Trump. In the last two weeks, the march across America has included Iowa, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Ohio and beyond.

Since Scott took charge of the NRSC, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, whom Scott had spoken with weeks earlier, was assassinated; a string of armed threats against Trump included a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner; and Scott’s fellow South Carolina senator and dear friend, Lindsey Graham, died unexpectedly.

Scott said his faith brought him through Graham’s death and helped him support Graham’s sister, Darline. “Losing your friend … close friend, it’s just hard. There’s just no other way to put it. Very hard, very unexpected,” he said.

Scott cited Scripture at least eight times in a 16-minute interview and alluded to another four Bible verses. He begins each day reading a chapter of Proverbs, matching the date. He read Proverbs 27 the day of the interview.

“The good Lord made it simple for people like me,” he said. Proverbs has 31 chapters, one for each day of the longest months.

Scott said he looks to Joshua, the biblical figure who led the Israelites into the Promised Land, as someone to emulate.

“He had been my hero when I was a young fella. I’m 61 now. I still think of him as a great example of a cheerful warrior,” he said, noting that the Lord told Joshua four times to “be strong and very courageous” because the task ahead of him would be challenging.

“As an African American who happens to be a Republican, or as a Republican who happens to be an African American, either way you look at it, it is a different road that I’m walking and it can be challenging,” Scott said. “But I’m of good cheer.”

DSA ‘dark, insidious force’

During this election cycle, one trend disturbing Scott is the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America, which he described as a “dark, insidious force.” He spoke of the battle as a spiritual calling, adding that he is “privileged, blessed even,” to be part of the fight for the future of America.

“We should all be concerned about this radical, dangerous, weird movement from the far left that wants to be the center of their party. We just won’t let it become the center of our country,” Scott said, referencing Isaiah 54:17: “no weapon formed against us shall prosper.”

Scott offered a piece of biblical exegesis: “That means that the weapons will be formed.”

Almost a decade ago, reflecting on how he had planned to go into ministry before his pastor told him God was calling him to politics, Scott described himself to National Review as a “reluctant warrior,” though a joyful one.

The publication billed Scott as a Republican capable of steering the GOP and America in a “less rancorous direction,” arguing that many conservatives were ready to move past Trump and his populist base. After Scott dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and Trump returned to the Oval Office, the Southern senator has become a key surrogate for Trump.

Scott said he was at peace entering and exiting the 2024 presidential race. His prayer partner had told him the run “might not be about votes,” Scott recalled, and his first response was, “I rebuke you in Jesus’ name.” He said he believes he ran it “exactly the way the Lord wanted it done.”

An aggressive approach

Some reports described a new, more aggressive approach from Scott during his 2024 presidential bid, a tone that has carried into his NRSC tenure.

After the alleged assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Scott posted that “the left attempted to murder President Trump (again).” On Monday, on The Charlie Kirk Show, Scott referred to South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Annie Andrews “as President Donald Trump calls her, Tranny Annie.” He emphasized that Andrews’ support for attempting to transition the gender of a child is wrong.

Asked about the nation’s first detransition clinic, which opened Monday at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston under a $10 million settlement with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Scott said he was not familiar with it.

“Any transgender surgeries or transitioning of our children, I think, ought to be illegal in our country,” Scott said. “If you’re going to make a decision, you better be an adult to make those decisions. We ought not be experimenting on America’s youth.”

When asked what he wants Christians to hear this election, Scott did not hesitate.

“I think so often we think of faith somehow as a love fest defined by how we feel, as opposed to what the Word says,” he said. “I think we as Christians should be aggressive in our faith about how we live our faith, about confessing and professing our faith. We’re gonna love people who disagree with us but we should never shirk into the shadows because we’re afraid of people’s reaction to our faith.”

He cited Ephesians 4:15: “Speak the truth in love,” and said love means following God’s commandments.

Scott is expected to spend election night in Columbia, South Carolina, with Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to her late brother Lindsey Graham’s seat and faces voters for the first time Tuesday, his team said.

“My job is to comfort others, especially Darline at that time, to try to be a rock through the faith I have in the Lord,” Scott said. “I had the privilege of seeing his sister step up and do something unimaginable: grieve [her] brother, go through a couple of funerals and be introduced to the nation as his replacement.”

Asked if he had anything to add, Scott, who was raised by a single mother, said, “If we were on TV, I’d say ‘hi’ to my mom.”