Kamala Harris said America isn't a 'racist country,' but warned the nation shouldn't 'ignore the realities' of racism

• Vice President Kamala Harris said the US should "speak the truth" about racism's history in the country.
• She had responded to Sen. Tim Scott, who gave the GOP response to Biden's joint address.
• "Hear me clearly," Scott said. "America is not a racist country."

Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday said she does not believe the United States is racist but that it is important to examine the role racism plays in the country.

"I don't think America is a racist country but we also do have to speak truth about the history of racism in our country and its existence today," she said on "Good Morning America." "These are issues we must confront and it does not help to heal our country, to unify our people, to ignore the realities of that."

Harris was responding to Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who gave the GOP response on Wednesday night to President Joe Biden's joint address to Congress.

"Hear me clearly," Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, said during his 15-minute speech. "America is not a racist country."

Scott accused Democrats of ignoring the strides that communities of color have made in the country in recent history and said that just before the pandemic, the US "had the most inclusive economy" in his lifetime.

He also stressed the significance of finding common ground on racial issues.

Harris offered a similar sentiment on Thursday, but emphasized that "we want to unify the country, but not without speaking truth and requiring accountability, as appropriate."

"I applaud the president for always having the ability and courage, frankly, to speak the truth about it," Harris said.

In his address, Biden spoke about rooting out systemic racism in the US' criminal justice system and called on Congress to pass police reform legislation to help rebuild trust in law enforcement.

"We have all seen the knee of injustice on the neck of Black America," Biden said. "Now is our opportunity to make real progress. Most men and women in uniform wear their badge and serve their communities honorably. I know them. I know they want to help meet this moment as well."

Biden also thanked the Senate for its recent passage of a bipartisan bill called the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which tackles the spike in anti-Asian violence and discrimination over the past year.