Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley attempted to walk back comments she made at a New Hampshire town hall on Wednesday night, facing a firestorm of criticism for refusing to mention slavery when responding to a question about the cause of the Civil War.
Following the disastrous moment, Haley’s campaign scrambled to do damage control, swiftly releasing a radio interview in which Haley said, “Of course the Civil War was about slavery,” while calling it “a stain on America” before reiterating that “individual rights and liberties matter for all people.”
The audience member, only identified as Patrick, said he was astonished by Haley’s answer in which she suggested the government played the biggest role in causing the war by limiting “the freedoms of what people could and couldn’t do.”
The questioner, who was handed a mic, asked Haley “What was the cause of the United States’ Civil War?”
Before responding, Haley took a moment to collect her thoughts, and with an audible sigh, seemed a bit uneasy and initially stumbling through the answer, saying, “Well, don’t come with an easy question or anything” before briefly explaining, “I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was gonna run, the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do.”
It was about slavery. https://t.co/q9bTDvtPne
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 28, 2023
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At that point, Haley redirected the question to Patrick, asking “What do you think the cause of the Civil War was?” which prompted the reply, “I’m not running for president.”
Now without the mic and barely audible, the audience member noted that Haley’s answer as a candidate for the White House was more important than his own point of view.
Back on the spot, Haley attempted to explain that the Civil War was caused by government getting in the way of individual freedoms, religious liberties, and economic pursuits — leading the…
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