Nikki Haley In Hot Water After Civil War Comments

Just when it seemed like Nikki Haley was making some strides in the GOP presidential race, she made ill-advised comments about the Civil War that has left many pondering what she was thinking.
On Wednesday night, Haley was asked what the cause of the Civil War was, and she initially refused to mention that slavery was a main cause.

Before the comments, Haley – the former governor of South Carolina and one-time ambassador to the UN in the Trump administration – was polling second among primary voters in South Carolina and New Hampshire. Now, it’s very likely that could change.

Haley’s blunder was a big one, as Republican strategist Rina Shah said. She told Politico via text:

“She easily could’ve communicated better in that moment, but chose to use a tired old political stump tactic by tossing the same question back to the guy who asked.

“What I do see is her having left out the word ‘slavery’ because she was scared to talk about anything regarding our nation’s complicated history. I think by acknowledging slavery she felt she might be alienating” voters who are currently siding with Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis.

Haley tried to clarify her statements the next morning, but that fell flat mostly. She said:

“I mean of course the Civil War was about slavery. We know that. That’s the easy part.”

She further went on to claim that the person who asked her the question at the town hall was a “Democratic plant.”

Haley not mentioning slavery as the root cause of the Civil War has likely disenchanted many Black Republican voters. Shermichael Singleton, who in the past has worked on presidential campaigns for Ben Carson and Mitt Romney, was aghast at her response.

He said:

“She should’ve been able to answer the damn question and move on.”

In addition, he said that what she said probably alienated a lot of moderate Republicans as well as swing voters – two cohorts that she will desperately need to win over if she wants to overcome the huge lead that Trump has in polls.

Singleton continued:

“She had a chance to be competitive even though she was always likely to lose [the nomination]. However, that’s over now. She’s toast.”

Some Republicans that Politico spoke to recently believe that Haley still has a chance in the primary, despite her monumental blunder. Armstrong Williams, the host of a conservative talk show, said that it could end up just being a teachable moment for her.

As he described:

“There were so many other issues that caused the Civil War, whether it be states’ rights, the role of our federal government at the time … the economy [Americans at that time] felt was in shambles.

“But, what she has to realize is all these issues, no matter what they were, were inextricably bound to the institution of slavery. She cannot separate slavery from any of these issues, no matter how many she mentions.”