“It was about slavery”
Questioner surprises Trump challenger Haley
December 28, 2023, 10:09 p.m
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Nikki Haley wants to run for the Republican presidential election. At an event in New Hampshire, the 51-year-old was asked a question about the American Civil War. Haley’s answer even ends up calling out US President Joe Biden.
Just a few weeks before the start of the preliminary voting for the US presidential candidates, the Republican candidate Nikki Haley stumbled over a question about the American Civil War. At a town hall meeting in the US state of New Hampshire, she gave a lengthy answer to the question about the causes of the Civil War – but without mentioning slavery.
The reason for the bloody war between 1861 and 1865 was essentially “how the government should be run” and “what people could and could not do,” said the former UN ambassador on Wednesday. She added that “it’s always about the role of the government and the rights of the people.”
The questioner then said it was “amazing” that slavery was not mentioned in Haley’s answer. According to the consensus of scholars, this was at the center of the American Civil War between the northern and southern states. Clearly taken aback, Haley asked the man, “What should I say about slavery?” Then the 51-year-old moved on to the next question. US President Joe Biden commented on a video clip of the event in New Hampshire on social networks with the words: “It was about slavery.”
In a radio interview, the Republican presidential candidate tried to recapture her comment in which she reiterated that the Civil War was “of course about slavery.” Haley further accused the questioner of being a “Democratic snitch” sent to harm her campaign and support her Republican running mate Donald Trump.
The politician has made significant gains in polls for the Republican primary race in recent weeks and pushed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis out of second place behind former US President Trump. However, the gap to the first place is huge: in the polls for the New Hampshire primaries on January 23rd, Trump is 20 points ahead of Haley.