Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott did not ‘threaten’ white people

In a March 27 interview on MSNBC, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott addressed social media posts characterizing him, a Black man, as a "DEI mayor." 

A day later, the conservative X account Libs of TikTok posted a 17-second clip from that interview and quoted him saying, "They should be afraid because that’s my purpose in life." 

"Nothing to see here… just the Mayor of Baltimore threatening White people," Libs of TikTok wrote to nearly 3 million followers. The account is created and run by Chaya Raichik.

(Screenshot from X)

But a look at Scott’s full interview, which happened a day after the cargo ship collision that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge, clarifies that he didn’t threaten white people. He spoke for more than a minute and was reacting to comments from what he called "those who are racist."

Within hours of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse March 26, some Republican politicians and social media users baselessly claimed "DEI" and Scott’s race were to blame for the event.

DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion — programs aiming to create environments of fairness and respect in schools and workplaces. Some conservatives are increasingly citing DEI to criticize hiring processes, policy decisions and corporate decision-making. 

During the March 27 episode of MSNBC’s "The Reid Out," host Joy Reid opened a segment by discussing the social media posts that characterized Scott as a "DEI mayor." 

She mentioned an X post by Florida Republican congressional candidate Anthony Sabatini, who shared a video of the bridge collapse and wrote, "DEI did this."

Reid told viewers that Scott was elected, "in a city that is 61% Black," adding that "by right-wing logic, a ‘diversity hire’ would have been a white man."

About a minute later, Scott, 39, who is running for reelection in 2024, joined the show. Scott said he views the use of the term "DEI" in that context as a stand-in for a racial slur. (We have bolded the section of the interview that Libs of TikTok’s post included.)

REID: "I will allow you, Mayor Scott, if you so choose to do so, to respond to the tomfoolery and attacks on you for having the nerve to be Black and also a mayor."

SCOTT: "Listen, I know, and we all know, and you know very well that Black men, and young Black men in particular, have been the bogeyman for those who are racist and think that only straight, wealthy, white men should have a say in anything.

"We’ve been the bogeyman for them since the first day they brought us to this country. And what they mean by DEI, in my opinion, is duly elected incumbent. 

"We know what they want to say, but they don’t have the courage to say the N-word and the fact that I don’t believe in their untruthful and wrong ideology, and I'm very proud of my heritage and who I am and where I come from scares them. Because me being at my position means that their way of thinking, their way of life of being comfortable while everyone else suffers is going to be at risk, and they should be afraid, because that’s my purpose in life."

Reid then talked about the six victims of the collapse, all presumed dead, who were Latino men.

The Libs of TikTok account posted the last 17 seconds of Scott’s one-minute comments and quoted only his last sentence. 

Featured Fact-check

Michael Rulli

stated on November 24, 2024 in a post

“Pete Buttigieg will leave his post as Transportation Secretary having spent $7.5 billion to build 8 EV charging stations.”

On Sunday, March 31, Scott made similar remarks on CBS News’ "Face the Nation" when asked by host Ed O’Keefe what he makes of "conservative critics" blaming the bridge collapse on DEI.

SCOTT: "Listen, I am a young Black man, a young Black mayor in this country. We know that there are a lot of racists and folks who don't think I should be in this job. I know that. I have been Black my whole life. I know how racists and racism goes in this country. But my focus is always going to be on those people (the victims of the bridge collapse). I didn't want to be out there that night asking — answering questions about DEI. I'm worried about the loss of life." 

X added a community note to Libs of TikTok’s March 28 post: "Clip is intentionally out of context. Mayor speaks of racists needing to be scared because he is against racism," the note said. 

Community notes are submitted by certain users and become public if "enough contributors from different points of view rate that note as helpful," according to X. Similarly, a note can be taken down if enough users downvote it. 

Libs of TikTok did not respond to PolitiFact’s request for comment. But the account disparaged the community note in a March 31 post.

An archived snapshot shows the community note was live on the Libs of TikTok post as of March 30; by April 1, it had been removed.

Posting a 17-second clip of Scott’s MSNBC interview, Libs of TikTok said "Nothing to see here… just the Mayor of Baltimore threatening White people."

But a look at Scott’s full interview clarifies that he didn’t threaten white people.

Scott was talking about "those who are racist and think that only straight, wealthy, white men should have a say in anything." Scott said "they should be afraid," because as a Black man in a position of power, he threatens that point of view. 

We rate Libs of TikTok's claim False.