WASHINGTON DC (WSAU) – On Wednesday night, Nikki Haley came under fire after she refrained from stating that slavery was the reason behind the Civil War, blaming the federal government’s role instead.
A voter questioned the former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor about the origin of the war during a town hall meeting in Berlin, New Hampshire, according to Politico.
“I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are,” Haley stated. “And I will always stand by the fact that I think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. It was never meant to be all things to all people. The government doesn’t need to tell you how to live your life. They don’t need to tell you what you can and can’t do. They don’t need to be a part of your life. They need to make sure that you have freedom. We need to have capitalism. We need to have economic freedom. We need to make sure that we do all things so that individuals have the liberties so that they can have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do or be anything they want to be without government getting in the way.”
The voter then said it was “astonishing” to hear her respond “without mentioning the word slavery.” Haley replied, “What do you want me to say about slavery?” She then asked for another question.
According to the American Battlefield Trust, while the issue of slavery did become one of the war’s main reasons after President Lincoln initially proposed the Emancipation Proclamation back in 1862, other concerns such as taxation, cultural values, and the power of the federal government to control the states were also on the minds of soldiers and voters at the time. Southern states also believed that President Lincoln specifically did not fairly represent their state’s interests compared to Northern states and would further expand the federal government’s power over the South.
Other presidential campaigns such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were quick to criticize Haley’s response saying in a statement, “It’s hard for [Haley] to criticize slavery when she has a well-documented history of giving corporate welfare and free land to China. She can’t risk offending her CCP friends.”
Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, who is running against President Biden to be the Democrat nominee for president, responded by saying, “Sorry, Nikki Haley. The Civil War was about slavery. Period.”
A new poll from Echelon Insights found that Haley currently sits at 10%, which trails former President Trump by 60 points in the GOP presidential primary race. However, in New Hampshire, an American Research Group poll found that Trump only leads Haley by four points in the state, and if a candidate such as former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were to drop out, most of his support is believed to move into her camp.
Comments