Ex-RNC chair rips Nikki Haley as she blames 'Democratic plant' for Civil War question

GOP presidential hopeful and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has been drawing criticism from both Democrats and Never Trump conservatives following her response to a question about the U.S. Civil War at a townhall event in New Hampshire on Wednesday, December 27.

When a New Hampshire voter asked Haley, "What was the cause of the Civil War," she failed to mention slavery. Instead, Haley responded, "I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run — the freedoms and what people could and couldn't do…. I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are. And I will always stand by the fact that I think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people."

Haley has since walked back that response, telling radio host Jack Heath, "I mean, of course the Civil War was about slavery. But what's the lesson in all of that? That we need to make sure that every person has freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do and be anything they want to be without anyone or government getting in the way. That was the goal of what that was at. Yes, I know it was about slavery. I'm from the South, of course I know it's about slavery."

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But the criticism of Haley isn't letting up, and there has been plenty of it on X, formerly Twitter.

Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele, a Never Trump conservative, tweeted, "Umm, Nikki...seriously?"

President Joe Biden reminded Haley, "It was about slavery."

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia) posted, "Our times demand moral clarity & courage. That Nikki Haley can't bring herself to say that the cause of the Civil War — fought over 150 years ago — was slavery, shows she has neither. Maya Angelou said when someone shows you who they are, believe them. I think we've seen enough."

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The New Hampshire Journal tweeted Haley's claim that the New Hampshire voter who asked her about the Civil War was a "Democratic plant" — to which CNN's Andy Kaczynski responded, "This implies what caused the Civil War is a trick question."

Author and activist Qasim Rashid, tweeting video of Malcolm X, wrote, "Nikki Haley's refusal to even acknowledge slavery reminds me of Malcolm X's wisdom from 60+ years ago when asked if we've made 'progress' on racial justice. No! He responds. Because 'They won't even admit the knife is there.' How little has changed."

MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan, responding to video of Haley posted by CNN's Kaitlan Collins, remarked, "Nikki Haley. For shame. The GOP, folks, the modern GOP."

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-California) posted, "Dear @NikkiHaley: Slavery was very, very, very bad. The Civil War was fought over slavery. The Confederacy lost. The Union won. Your repeated avoidance of basic historical facts doesn't change those facts, it just makes you look like a racist."

Journalist Victoria Brownworth tweeted, "The fact that slavery is a main talking point in the final days of 2023 just highlights how irretrievably broken the GOP is. This isn't only about Nikki Haley, it's about MAGA and the racist trajectory/devolution of the GOP and how much worse it's been under Trump's leadership."

Writer Dianne Callahan tweeted, "OMG, Nikki Haley has been a Governor of South Carolina where in 1861 Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter to start the Civil War. The cause was the economics of slavery and political control of that system that was central to the conflict."

MeidasTouch posted video of Haley from 2010, commenting, "FLASHBACK: During a 2010 interview with neo-Confederates, Nikki Haley avoided saying the Civil War was fought over slavery and instead implied the South was 'fighting for tradition' while the Union was 'fighting for change.'"

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