Democrats call out Nikki Haley for omitting slavery as Civil War cause

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December 28, 2023  — Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley’s comments that failed to list slavery as the cause of the Civil War drew criticism from Democrats, including the party’s chair, who called the former South Carolina governor’s words a “slap in the face to Black voters.”

“I am disgusted but I’m not surprised – this is what Black South Carolinians have come to expect from Nikki Haley, and now the rest of the country is getting to see her for who she is,” Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement. “This isn’t hard: condemning slavery is the baseline for anyone who wants to be president of the United States.”

Haley at a town hall in New Hampshire on Wednesday was asked, “What was the cause of the United States Civil War?” by a member of the audience.

“I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run, the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do,” Haley said.

“It always comes down to the role of government. 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,” she added.

After her response, the audience member said it was “astonishing” to “answer that question without mentioning the word ‘slavery.”

“What do you want me to say about slavery? Next question,” Haley responded.

Many historians agree that the dispute over slavery was the catalyst for the US Civil War from 1861 to 1865, that ultimately ended with the emancipation of enslaved people.

The incident is the latest to inject debates about race and slavery into the 2024 presidential contest and comes at a critical time for Haley’s campaign.

Haley has enjoyed new momentum of late, buoyed by a series of strong performances in the Republican debates. Although she still trails former President Donald Trump by a wide margin, she has risen in the polls and drawn interest from prominent Wall Street donors dismayed by the prospect of a Trump rematch with President Joe Biden.

Haley, who is in third place in the race, behind Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, has focused her efforts on early voting Iowa and New Hampshire. Polls show her in second place in New Hampshire.

Representatives for Haley’s campaign pointed to remarks she made in a radio interview Thursday morning addressing the controversy.

“Yes, we know the Civil War was about slavery. But more than that, what’s the lesson in all this? That freedom matters. And individual rights and liberties matter for all people,” Haley said. “That’s the blessing of America. That was a stain on America when we had slavery. But what we want is never relive it.”

Representatives for New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who has endorsed Haley’s candidacy and who is scheduled to attend campaign stops with her Thursday, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“It was about slavery,” Biden posted from his campaign account late Wednesday, sharing a video of the exchange.

Black voters are a key part of Biden’s electoral coalition and turning them out to the polls will be critical for his reelection hopes next year. Polls show his support among those voters has weakened amid broader anxiety over his economic agenda and frustration over the administration’s progress on issues including voting rights and police reform.

Biden’s favorability among Black voters in seven swing states has slipped 7 percentage points since October, to 61% this month, according to a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll. Trump’s held steady at about 25%.

Trump’s campaign aims to ramp up outreach to Black voters in hopes of shaving off enough support to weaken Biden in swing states.

DeSantis’s campaign also seized on the controversy, posting video of the exchange and a local New Hampshire station’s coverage of the event. His campaign posted that Haley “hides from tough questions” and isn’t “ready for primetime.”

While South Carolina governor, Haley gained attention when she called on her state’s lawmakers to remove the Confederate battle flag from the State House grounds after a 2015 mass shooting in which a white supremacist targeted people at a historic black church in Charleston. Prior to that incident, Haley had downplayed calls for the flag’s removal.

DeSantis also spurred controversy earlier this year when he defended a Florida educational curriculum that said formerly enslaved Black Americans gained beneficial life skills from chattel slavery.