Joe Biden, Ron DeSantis React To Nikki Haley's Viral Civil War Comments
Nikki Haley's recent comments about the Civil War have raised a lot of eyebrows, including that of her two political rivals in the 2024 presidential elections: US President Joe Biden and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
During a New Hampshire town hall, the former South Carolina governor was asked about what caused the Civil War and she did not mention slavery. This garnered her plenty of backlash as her only answer to the question was that it involved "the freedoms of what people could and couldn't do."
In her answer, she explained things about the role of government, individual freedom, and capitalism, not even mentioning what historians actually deemed was the real reason for the Civil War. This got her immediately slammed by the person asking her the question.
"In the year 2023, it's astonishing to me that you answered that question without mentioning the word 'slavery,'" she was told.
This answer got a simple four-word response from President Joe Biden, who posted on Twitter, "It was about slavery."
Her avoidance of the word often plays into the "Culture War" narrative that Republicans often play, as it panders to their conservative and mostly-white voter base, who still believe that the Civil War was all about "State Rights" even though the said "State Rights" was all about owning slaves.
Ron DeSantis Also Slams Nikki Haley Over Civil War Answer
It was not just Joe Biden who slammed Haley for her answer but surprisingly, one of the loudest proponents of the Republican "Culture War" narrative, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He reminded Hailey that she was also a Republican and that the party was originally founded on one thing.
"The Republican Party was founded to put a stop to the growth of slavery in this country. And the abolition of slavery was—and to this day, remains—the party's top achievement," he said, claiming that the abolition of slavery was a "partisan achievement."
However, when a reporter asked him about the curriculum standard approved in Florida that "includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit," DeSantis tried to avoid the issue.
"That's a fake narrative," he answered. "We've now had a whole semester that's happened. Have you seen examples of (teachers) saying what the media was saying this summer? No."
Nikku Haley Walks Back Her Civil War Answer, Now Says It Is About Slavery
After all the backlash she received from the left and the center-right, as well as Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley was forced to backpedal just 12 hours later.
According to the Associated Press, she went on an interview on Thursday morning where she said, "Of course, the Civil War was about slavery," calling it a "stain on America."
Her campaign has been disseminating the interview as she faces backlash from avoiding the issue. She was heard reiterating that "freedom matters. And individual rights and liberties matter for all people."
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: Nikki Haley addresses her Civil War response amid backlash - CBS News
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