Nikki Haley's 'breathtaking' Civil War faceplant may cripple her surging campaign: analyst
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's inability to acknowledge slavery as the central cause of the Civil War at a New Hampshire town hall may deal a death blow to her surging campaign as she chases Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination, experts said.
Stumping in Berlin, New Hampshire on Wednesday, the Republican was asked by a potential voter about the battle between the states that started in her home turf of South Carolina, and she attempted to explain it away as a conflict over "the freedoms of what people could and couldn’t do.”
That led to a back and forth with her questioner, who pressed her with, "In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word slavery.”
“What do you want me to say about slavery?” Haley shot back before abruptly adding, "Next question."
That led Morning Joe regular Jonathan Lemire and MSNBC contributor Jennifer Palmieri to shake their heads at the unforced blunder.
"Jen, this shouldn't have been hard," Lemire prompted his guest. "Slavery is the answer here."
"It is reflective of where the Republican base is right now, that you can't tell a simple truth for fear of losing voters in what has become such a radicalized Republican Party."
He later added, "This could blunt some of her momentum. Iowa's been hard for her, but going into New Hampshire, she did have the wind at her back — maybe this costs her."
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"It's breathtaking," Palmieri contributed. "I had read the transcript, but I had not actually seen it, and it's just breathtaking when she says, 'What do you want me to say about slavery?' That is her campaign in one question, right? It is, like, 'Who do you want me to be right now? Who do I need to morph into in order to never take Trump on, but be acceptable enough to sort of the MAGA majority?'"
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