Charles Barkley has publicly endorsed former South Carolina Governor and long-shot GOP hopeful Nikki Haley during a televised interview with Haley and Gayle King. Barkley said he was putting his "whole heart" behind Haley before giving her an open platform to address her previous comments in which she stated that America was "never a racist country."
However, people were far from happy with Barkley's decision as the clip quickly went viral. "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," one commenter noted. "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," added another.
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Who Is Nikki Haley?
Born Nimarata Randhawa, Haley's political career went largely under the mainstream radar until her second term as Governor of South Carolina. In a break from the Republican hard line, Haley refused to support a "bathroom bill" in South Carolina and also oversaw the removal of the Confederate flag from the statehouse. However, in most other aspects of her career, Haley is seen as a party-line loyalist. After leaving state politics, Haley was appointed UN ambassador under Donald Trump. However, she only served in the role for two years.
Haley's 2024 Presidential bid dates back to at least July 2022. She formally announced her bid in February 2023, becoming the first challenger to Donald Trump. However, she quickly fell behind in the polls after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stepped into the race. She now remains as the primary challenger to Trump. However, that effort is not going well. In the recent Nevada Caucus, which Trump did not contest, Haley still finished second to the "None of these candidates" option by a significant margin. Most political experts expect Haley to drop out of the race if she loses her home state, which voted yesterday.
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Reactions To Charles Barkley Nikki Haley Endorsement
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