Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley reiterated her belief that “America has never been a racist country” in her final appeal to New Hampshire voters ahead of Tuesday’s state GOP primary.
Haley defended the controversial comments she made earlier this week during a town hall Thursday night at New England College with CNN anchor Jake Tapper, after a scheduled debate between Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was canceled.
Tapper pressed Haley on the comments, pointing out that slavery was institutionalized in the constitution and the White House was built on slave labor, but Haley stood her ground, saying she did not believe the founding fathers founded the country on racial principles.
The former South Carolina governor, who was born in a southern state to Indian parents, described her experience growing up as a “brown girl” from “a small, rural town” that experienced “a lot of racism.”
However, she said her parents “never said we live in a racist country and I’m so glad they didn’t.”
Nikki Haley defends her claim that the United States has never been a racist country. AP
“For every brown and black child out there, you tell them they live or were born in a racist country, you immediately tell them they don’t have a chance,” Haley continued. “My parents always said you will face challenges and yes there will be people who are racist – but that doesn’t define what you can do in this country.”
Haley claimed that “we have too many self-hating people in this country” and that it is “killing our country.”
“We need to love America again. We are blessed that that little brown girl in that small rural town grew up to be the first female minority governor in the country … and is now running for president of the United States,” he said.
Tapper rejected the reestablishment of the nation and its institutions tied to racism, but Haley responded that “his intention is to do the right thing.”
Haley is hoping for an upset victory over front-runner Donald Trump in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary. Getty Images
“I don’t think so [founding fathers’] intending that we will become a racist country. The intention is that everyone will be created equal,” he said.
DeSantis, when asked to respond to Haley’s comments on CNN’s high court on Tuesday, said he thinks the US is “not a racist country” now, but “has challenges with how race is perceived.”
A poll released this week shows former president and front-runner Donald Trump with a double-digit lead over Haley in the Granite State — 52% to 38%, following Trump’s big caucus win in Iowa last week.
DeSantis polled behind them in the single digits.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
