Harris Takes Aim at Haley, DeSantis on MLK Day

Vice President Kamala Harris addressed Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis in a speech on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“They even try to erase, overlook, and rewrite the ugly parts of our past,” Harris said. “For example, the Civil War which, must I really have to say, was about slavery.”

Harris’ comments were in response to Haley’s remarks in New Hampshire last month where she gave an awkward response to a question about the cause of the Civil War.

Democrats and Republican rivals have critiqued Harris for citing state’s rights and the role of government as causes of the Civil War.

Speaking at the NAACP South Carolina State Conference in Columbia, Harris told the crowd, “All the while, they tell our children that enslaved people benefited from slavery.”

Harris’ comments were a criticism of Florida’s recently revised school curriculum that mentions former slaves using their skills to earn a living as skilled tradesmen when they gained their freedom. The controversy stemmed from the use of the word “benefit” in the text in Florida, where DeSantis is governor.

During her speech, Harris also addressed “profound threats” in the U.S., referencing voting rights and abortion.

“In states across our nation, extremists propose and pass laws to attack a woman’s freedom to make decisions about her own body,” Harris said. “Today, in effect we are witnessing a full-on attack on hard-won, hard-fought freedoms.”