Nikki Haley slammed over 'flawed' answer after Charles Barkley roasts her for claiming 'US not racist'

BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA: NBA legend Charles Barkley is not happy with Nikki Haley after he claim that the United States is not a racist country.

The former Governor of South Carolina and a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, Haley was questioned by Gayle King and Charles Barkley on her claim during a CNN interview on Wednesday, February 21.

Barkley admitted that he was eagerly looking forward to casting his vote for Haley, but was disheartened by her remark and asked her to clarify her stance on the matter, according to DailyMail.

Haley emphasized that while she never denied the existence of racism, the United States of America, as a nation, is not inherently racist.

Nikki Haley insists ‘America is not a racist country’

NBA legend Barkley said on Wednesday, “I can say - I'm dying to vote for you. And that hurt me. So I would love you to clarify that.”

Haley replied, “So, first of all, I never said that there was not racism in America. There absolutely is racism in America. I said that America was not a racist country.”

The 52-year-old GOP presidential hopeful recounted her own experience growing up in an Indian household, underlining her mother's emphasis on finding common ground.

“When I grew up, the only Indian family in a small, rural southern town, we weren't white enough to be white. We weren't black enough to be black,” she shared. 

“They didn't know who we were or what we were or why we were there,” Haley continued. “If my mom had told me that we lived in a racist country, I would have grown up never thinking I could be governor, never thinking I could be ambassador, never thinking I could run for president.”

“'But my mom always said, your job is not to show them how you're different. Your job is to show them how you're similar,” she added. “And it's amazing how that lesson on the playground played throughout my life,” Haley said. 

Co-host Gayle King rebutted the daughter of Indian immigrant parents, noting the most concerning part of her 2020 statement was when she claimed “America is not a racist country.” 

Haley responded, “I think the premise of America was not to be a racist country.”

She continued, “I think that they said that every man was created equal with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and getting it to the place it needed to be was America was a work in progress. But I don't think that the basis of America was that we were a racist country.”

“I think the goal was always to have freedom. Now, we stumbled along the way and we've got some parts of our history that were not pretty, but we got past that. I don't think that our founders wanted us to have a racist country. I don't believe that,” she explained.

What did Nikki Haley say regarding hot button issues like abortion and immigration?

The CNN hosts pressed Haley on her position on embryos, during which she reiterated her conviction in approaching the matter with respect, arguing for parents' rights and responsible medical care.

“First of all, I didn't say that I agreed with the Alabama ruling,” Haley stated. 

She argued, “I do think that if you look in the definition, an embryo is considered an unborn baby. The difference is ... we need to treat these issues with the upmost respect.”

In regards to immigration, Haley, who is vying against Donald Trump in the Republican primary before the 2024 election, suggested implementing a national E-Verify system, withdrawing funding from sanctuary cities, augmenting border patrol, and reinstating the 'Remain in Mexico' policy.

“When I was governor of South Carolina, we passed the toughest illegal immigration law in the country. We need to take what we did in South Carolina and go national with it,” Haley continued.

She claimed, “We need a national E-Verify program that requires businesses to prove that the people they hire are in this country legally. We need to defund sanctuary cities once and for all.”

“We can't have safe havens. That's the incentive that makes them want to come here. We need to go and put 25,000 Border patrol and ICE agents on the ground and let them do their job. We need to go back to the Remain in Mexico policy. And instead of catch and release, we need to go to catch and deport,” she posited.

Haley also expressed her criticism of Congress for their failure to effectively address the border issue.

In light of this, she has called for immediate action to secure the border and urged against unnecessary delay for political reasons.

“Congress needs to get in there and do their job and Donald Trump needs to stay out of it because Americans need to be protected,” she asserted. “And we have got to secure that border.”

“America is acting like it's September 10th. We better remember what September 12 felt like. It only takes one person to have a 9/11 moment,” she cautioned Americans in conclusion. 

Internet slams Nikki Haley over her ‘America is not a racist country’ remark from 2020

People on X expressed their reactions after watching the exchange between the former UN ambassador and Barkley and King on Wednesday.

One X user said, “Her logic is flawed. If it were true that telling kids America was a racist country, then we would've never had any successful black people ever prevail in this country."

Another user claimed, "Yes, the premise of America was not to be a racist country. This is why slavery stayed legal, banned interracial marriage, brought more slaves from China, fought a violent Civil War to maintain rights to own certain races, then created segregation laws. Good argument, Nimarata."

Another user remarked, "The racism is written into the constitution. Jesus christ lady."

One user wrote, "Isn't it strange how Haley claims that simply knowing this country's history would limit a child's potential? What kind of nonsense is that?"

Another X user argued, "She should just say she misspoke and continue with the high ideals part. The more she tries to explain it away the worse she sounds. And the idea that the country 'stumbled along the way?' Slavery, Jim Crowe, displacement of the natives, etc., those were more than mere stumbles."

Finally, this user tweeted, "She called slavery a "stumble along the way""

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.