In presidential campaign kickoff, Sen. Tim Scott says left attacks 'American values'

May 22 (UPI) -- South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott officially announced his bid for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race on Monday.

Scott took the stage Monday morning at his alma mater Charleston Southern University, where he decried the "radical left" and touted himself as a self-made success story.

"We live in the land where it is possible for a kid raised in poverty by a single mother in a small apartment to one day serve in the 'people's house' and maybe even the White House," Scott said in a statement.

The senator said he would focus on the southern border from his first day in office, saying the Biden administration has been weak on border security.

"Joe Biden and the radical left are attacking every rung of the ladder that helped me climb. And that is why I am announcing today that I am running for president of the United States of America," he said. "They're attacking our American values; our schools; our economy; our security. But not on my watch. I cannot stand by while this is done to America. She has done too much for me."

The senator's announcement puts him in the ring with former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. He officially filed for candidacy on Friday.

Trump remains the front-runner for the Republican nomination, though the first caucuses are still months away. Scott supported many of Trump's agenda items, including funding the construction of a border wall.

However, Scott also supported police reform in the wake of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killing George Floyd in May 2020. Scott introduced the Justice Act that would ban chokeholds, strengthen background checks in the officer hiring process, expand the use of body cameras and require reporting on no-knock warrants.