What did you want to tell the country in the wake of the shooting?
“I knew that we needed to put on a face for this state (for Friday morning national TV interviews), which was that we were hurt and that we were sad, but that we were together. I wanted the country to know that the people of South Carolina love their God, love their country and love their state but, more importantly, they love each other. … I take great pride in the state, talking about what we build and what we do and tourism and all. The people of South Carolina, I love bragging on them. So, I just didn’t want them to think (the shooting is) who we were.”
Were you worried that the perception of South Carolina changed?
“No, I was concerned about those nine families and that church family and the people of South Carolina. It was so obvious how broken everybody was. Going through Charleston, they were devastated. That was all I could think about, was how was I going to heal the state. I didn’t care about anything else.