Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Thursday the Civil War questioner at her Wednesday town hall was a “Democrat plant.”
A questioner in Berlin, New Hampshire, asked her about the cause of the Civil War, and she said “The cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run.” She then asked the questioner the same question, and he replied that he was not “running for president.”
Haley received major scrutiny for not mentioning slavery in her answer, leading her to tell radio host Jack Heath that the questioner was likely a “plant” placed by the Democratic Party to interfere with her campaign.
“[The Democrats] are sending plants,” she reportedly told Heath on the radio show, “The Pulse with NH.” “Why are they hitting me? See this for what it is… They want to run against Trump. In town halls, I answer every question, and they are planting questions there … It was definitely a Democrat plant. When I asked him, he didn’t want to answer. He didn’t give reporters his name.”
“It was definitely a Democrat plant. When asked him, he didn’t want to answer. He didn’t give reporters his name. ” — @NikkiHaley on question re: cause of Civil War at last night’s town hall in Berlin, NH.@NHGOP #FITN
— NH Journal (@NewHampJournal) December 28, 2023
Haley later said in the interview she did not mention slavery as a cause of the Civil War because she tried to explain what it means “for us today.” (RELATED: MSNBC Guest Somehow Finds A Way To Blame Trump For Nikki Haley’s Slavery Comments)
“Of course the Civil War was about slavery. We know that. That’s the easy part of it. 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,” Haley said. “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?”
Haley has currently garnered 24.8% support, trailing only behind former President Donald Trump, who holds 46.3% favorability, according to RealClearPolitics.