Tim Scott's 'Howard Dean Moment' Sparks Avalanche of Jokes, Memes

Republican 2024 presidential candidate Tim Scott is facing mockery after what some are calling a "Howard Dean moment" during his campaign announcement speech.

The U.S. senator from South Carolina insisted that he was "the candidate the far left fears the most" during his announcement in North Charleston on Monday. As the speech began, Scott's voice appeared to crack into a high-pitched yell as he greeted the crowd, "Hello, North Charleston!"

"Howard Dean" soon began to trend on Twitter, with comparisons drawn between the GOP senator and Dean, the former Vermont governor whose campaign for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination famously imploded after an emotional campaign speech vocalization that came to be known as the "Dean Scream."

"Tim Scott had a Howard Dean moment literally the very first second of his presidential campaign," journalist Aaron Rupar tweeted while sharing a video of the moment.

"Who in Tim Scott's staff brought in Howard Dean as the falsetto coach?" tweeted @flat5th.

"Tim Scott announces his run for president while channeling his best Howard Dean," @DrewTripp tweeted.

"This is not the way you want to kick off a presidential campaign," Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett tweeted. "Ouch."

User @PaulPari6 responded to Scott's speech and the comparison to Dean by tweeting a meme featuring a Family Guy character and the words "Here's The First Pitch ... and the season's over"—a joke referencing the plight of fans of the often underperforming New York Mets.

"Why did Tim Scott try to do a Howard Dean impression near the end?" tweeted @BobbyBlueCollar. "Heck, he's almost wearing the exact same outfit Dean wore back then too."

Newsweek has reached out to the Scott campaign via email for comment.

Scott was not universally mocked over the high-pitched emission, with a small number of Twitter users defending him and arguing that the moment would have no impact on Republican voters.

"The idea that Howard Dean had has [sic] campaign ended over a scream back in the day was and still is completely stupid," tweeted @DenifLewesa. "The idea that you can do the same thing to Tim Scott today is even more stupid. And the people trying to cancel Scott 'bc Howard Dean!' are dumb af."

Scott likely faces long odds to become the Republican presidential nominee in 2024. A recent polling average from RealClearPolitics shows him in a distant fifth place in the GOP primary, preferred by only 1.8 percent of those polled.

Former President Donald Trump, the clear GOP frontrunner, wished Scott "good luck" in a Truth Social post hours after his announcement. Trump said that Scott was "a big step up from Ron DeSanctimonious," referring to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to enter the race soon.