Haley Apologizes for Slavery Gaffe: ‘I Had Friends of Color in my Childhood’

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley attempted to address her controversial comments about the Civil War on Thursday night, but her explanation only aroused more scrutiny when she mentioned that she “had Black friends growing up.”

Haley faced criticism last month for failing to mention slavery as the cause of the Civil War during a New Hampshire town hall.

She has tried to clarify her remarks, acknowledging that the war was indeed fought over slavery. However, during a CNN town hall on Thursday night, she stumbled yet again in her response.

When asked by an Iowa caucus voter, Haley admitted that she should have mentioned slavery in her initial response and discussed her own upbringing in a South Carolina Indian family.

“I should have said slavery right off the bat,” she said, according to the Daily Mail. “If you grow up in South Carolina, literally in second and third grade, you learn about slavery. You grow up and you have, you know, I had black friends growing up.

“It is a very talked-about thing. We have a big history in South Carolina, when it comes to slavery, when it comes to all the things that happened with the Civil War, all of that. It was not just slavery that was talked about; it was more about racism that was talked about. We had Black friends, we had White friends, but it was always a topic of conversation.”

During the town hall, the former United Nations ambassador also caused a stir by expressing her willingness to consider pardoning former President Donald Trump, with whom she is competing for the Republican presidential nomination.

Though still considered an underdog against Trump in the Republican primary, Haley’s campaign has gained momentum in recent weeks, with one poll showing her only four points behind the frontrunner in New Hampshire.

Addressing Iowa voters on Thursday, Haley extended an olive branch to Trump, stating that she would pardon the former president if she won the White House and he were convicted of any charges against him.

“I don’t think our country will move forward with an 80-year-old president sitting in jail that allows our country to continue to be divided,” she said. “We have to move on past that.”

Trump currently faces four criminal cases related to election interference, falsifying business records, mishandling classified documents, and a civil fraud case.