Nikki Haley blames Democratic ‘plants’ for Civil War question, where she didn’t mention slavery
BERLIN, N.H. – Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said an attendee of a campaign event in New Hampshire who asked her about the cause of the American Civil War was a “Democrat plant.”
Her response drew criticism, with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ team saying she is “not ready for primetime” and highlighting how Haley did not mention slavery in her response to the voter’s question.
“What was the cause of the United States Civil War?” the voter asked this week.
“Well, don’t come with an easy question […] the cause of the Civil War was, basically, how the government was gonna run,” she said. “The freedoms, and what people could or couldn’t do – what do you think the cause of the Civil War was?”
“I’m not running for president,” the voter replied, to which Haley continued discussing the “role of government” and people’s “rights.” She did not mention the word “slavery,” but focused on how government shouldn’t tell people what they “can and can’t do.”
“It’s astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word ‘slavery,'” the voter said, to which Haley moved to the next question.
Thursday morning, per the New Hampshire Journal, Haley clarified her comments, saying “of course the Civil War was about slavery.”
“That’s the easy party,” she said. “Yes, I know it was about slavery. I am from the South.”
Haley went on to claim that Democrats are “sending plants” to her events.
“It was definitely a Democrat plant,” she said. “When I asked him, he didn’t want to answer. He didn’t give reporters his name.”
Haley didn’t explain her comments until Thursday morning, but before that, the DeSantis campaign pounced on the perceived blunder.
“It’s been 12 hours and Nikki Haley still hasn’t offered an explanation for her comments,” the campaign said. “What’s the hold up?”
“Yikes,” the campaign said Wednesday. “Local New Hampshire stations are already covering Nikki Haley’s disastrous town hall tonight where she declined to mention ‘slavery’ when asked ‘What was the cause of the Civil War?'”
