Haley, asked about the cause of the Civil War, avoids mentioning slavery

Nikki Haley, the Republican presidential candidate and former governor of South Carolina who has struggled for years to address issues of race, slavery and the Confederacy, was confronted with those topics again Wednesday during a town hall event in New Hampshire. miles north of the Mason-Dixon line.

Her answer to a simple but charged question from an audience member in the city of Berlin: “What caused the American Civil War?” – showed how much she continues to struggle with such topics.

“I mean, I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are,” she said eventually, arguing that government shouldn’t tell people how to live their lives or “what you do’s and don’ts’. Doing.”

“I will always stand by the fact that I believe the government was intended to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the people,” she said. “It was never meant to be all things to all people.”

Conspicuously missing from her response was slavery, which most mainstream historians agree was at the root of the bloodiest conflict in the United States—notably the economics and political control behind slavery. Democrats were quick to respond to her response, as was President Biden’s reelection campaign team others distribute video of the exchange on social media.

After going back and forth with the questioner for a moment, she said, “What do you want me to say about slavery?” Next question.”

“I’m disgusted, but I’m not surprised — this is what Black South Carolinaians have come to expect from Nikki Haley, and now the rest of the country is starting to see her for who she is,” said Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison , said a statement.

How much it matters in the Republican primaries remains to be seen. Former President Donald J. Trump, the front-runner in the race, has raised, not lowered, the temperature of his own divisive rhetoric. Ms. Haley wants to reach some of his supporters. But as she looks ahead to New Hampshire’s first primary on Jan. 23, she’s counting on moderate Republicans and independents — who can vote in the election — to give her a strong performance.

Her latest comments were consistent with the way she and most of her Republican rivals have walked the line on race and racism during the 2024 presidential run, downplaying the country’s sordid racial history and calling out structural racism and portraying prejudices as challenges from the past. The comments are also in line with her campaign message, which includes promises to shrink the size of the federal government and leave it up to states to decide how to handle big issues like abortion.

A spokeswoman for Haley did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening.

Ms. Haley, who governed a state in the heart of the Confederacy, has a particularly complicated record on racial issues.

She rose to national prominence when she signed legislation to take down the Confederate battle flag in the South Carolina State House after a white supremacist shot and killed nine black parishioners in Charleston, including a senator, in 2015. Along the way, she recalls the experience with great effect, casting herself as a new-generation leader in the Republican Party capable of bridging differences.

But when she ran for election in 2010 and then for re-election in 2014, she was dismissed talk of removing the flag. In a 2010 interview with leaders of the Confederate Heritage Group, a major political force in her state, she argued that the Confederate flag was “not something racist” but was about tradition and heritage. She said she was able to use her identity as a minority woman to fend off calls to boycott the flag. “You know, for the groups that come in and say they have a problem with the Confederate flag, I’ll try to talk to them about it,” she said.

After the 2015 attack shocked South Carolina, Ms. Haley seized on state lawmakers’ efforts to remove the flag.

Responding to the audience member on Wednesday, Ms. Haley argued that the United States needs capitalism and economic freedom and “freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do or be whatever they want to be without government interference.” . the route.”

The audience member said it was “amazing” that Ms. Haley had answered his question without saying the word slavery.