Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Thursday said the Civil War "of course" was "about slavery," and insisted her comments the previous night came after a question by one of the "Democrat plants."
Haley faced swift criticism for making no mention of slavery when, at a town hall Wednesday night, she was asked about the cause of the Civil War.
"Of course the Civil War was about slavery. We know that. That's the easy part of it," Haley said Thursday morning on "The Pulse of NH," a New Hampshire radio show.
"What I was saying was, 'What does it mean to us today?' What it means to us today is about freedom. That’s what that was all about. It was about individual freedom. It was about economic freedom. It was about individual rights. Our goal is to make sure, no, we never go back to the stain of slavery, but what’s the lesson in all of that?”
Moments later the former South Carolina governor added, "Yes, I know it was about slavery. I’m from the South; of course you know it was about slavery.”
At the town hall on Wednesday night in Berlin, New Hampshire, a man asked Haley, "What was the cause of the United States Civil War?"
In answering, Haley did not cite slavery as a cause of the war. Instead, she said it took place because of the "role of government."
"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," the former U.N. ambassador answered.
"I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are. And I will always stand by the fact that I think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. It was never meant to be all things to all people."
Haley on Thursday accused the town hall questioner of being a Democrat plant.
"Biden and the Democrats keep sending Democrat plants to do things like this, to get the media to react,” she said.
The person who asked the question declined to share his name or party affiliation with reporters at the event, The Washington Post reported.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday night also called attention to Haley's comments, writing on X that "It was about slavery."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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