American Tributes – Rick Scott: I Was Raised in Public Housing, Now I Live the American Dream

As part of Breitbart’s America 250 coverage, we proudly present American Tributes. This special section showcases original videos sent to us from members of Congress, the Cabinet, and the Administration… all thematically connected by one simple premise: love of country.

Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-FL) video message for Breitbart News’s American Tributes project reflected on his childhood, growing up without much money and pulling himself up by his bootstraps using the opportunities afforded in this country. 

“What’s so special about our nation is how our freedom and our endless opportunities make up the American dream,” Scott began. “Growing up, my family didn’t have a lot. I was raised in public housing, where my dad was a World War Two veteran and truck driver. My mom was a store clerk who worked very hard to try and put food on our table.”

When the future senator graduated high school, he joined the U.S. Navy. He later obtained a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri–Kansas City and a law degree from Southern Methodist University, both on the GI Bill. 

Scott went on to describe how he worked his way up to the “American dream,” opening a business and being able to hire his own mother.

“With enough hard work and dedication, I got to live my American dream, and now serve as Florida’s United States senator,” he said. Before becoming senator in 2019, Scott served as Florida’s governor.

“I am grateful to live in a country that gives people the opportunity to achieve their own American dream if they work hard enough,” Scott continued. “We have to keep it that way. I am fighting each and every day to keep that American dream alive, so American kids today can have the exact same opportunities I had growing up. Our nation is a beacon of freedom and prosperity for the entire world, and I’m blessed to celebrate 250 years of it.”

The senator concluded his video message with “God bless, and thank you.”

Scott recently made headlines for co-introducing a bill to rename the street in front of the Chinese Embassy after Tiananmen Square.

“Thirty-seven years ago, the world witnessed the true brutality of the Chinese Communist Party when countless peaceful demonstrators were murdered in cold blood for opposing the communist regime,” Scott told Breitbart News last month, noting that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has shown “no remorse for this horrific event, has never taken accountability, and continues to commit severe human rights violations to this day.”

Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.