Twitter removed "Uncle Tim" from its trending topics after critics of Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., caused the phrase to blow-up on the social media platform following his response to President Joe Biden’s speech to a joint session of Congress, Mediaite reports.
The phrase, which derives from the offensive term "Uncle Tom," started to trend on Twitter's "politics" category after Scott delivered the official GOP rebuttal to Biden’s speech Wednesday evening.
Fox News’ John Roberts tweeted on Thursday: "And - just like that - @Twitter has now blocked the racist slur against Sen. Scott from trending. Some 11 hours later."
In a statement to Fox, Twitter said: "we are blocking the phrase you referenced from appearing in Trends. This is in line with our policies on Trends, specifically: We want Trends to promote healthy conversations on Twitter."
Scott said in his speech on Wednesday evening: "I’ve experienced the pain of discrimination. I know what it feels like to be pulled over for no reason, to be followed around the store while I’m shopping."
He also noted that he’s dealt with a "different kind of intolerance ... I get called Uncle Tom and the n-word by progressives, by liberals."
Scott then referenced a recent report from The Washington Post about his family history, saying, "Just last week, a national newspaper suggested my family’s poverty was actually privileged, because a relative owned land generations before my time."
He concluded, "My friends across the aisle seem to want the issue more than they want a solution. But I’m still working. I’m hopeful that this will be different. When America comes together, we’ve made tremendous progress, but powerful forces want to pull us apart."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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