Former New Jersey Gov Chris Christie attacked former South Carolina governor and fellow 2024 candidate Nikki Haley for her answer to a question about the cause of the Civil War, suggesting her comments stemmed from her unwillingness to “offend anyone by telling the truth.”
On Wednesday, Ms Haley was asked by a man at a New Hampshire town hall: “What was the cause of the United States Civil War?” To which, Ms Haley joked, “Well, don’t come with an easy question”.
She continued: “I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run, the freedoms, and what people could and couldn’t do…I think it always comes down to the role of government.” She didn’t mention slavery, which the voter pointed out.
“What do you want me to say about slavery? Next question,” Ms Haley said.
Her response sparked backlash from both sides of the aisle. On Thursday at a town hall event in New Hampshire, Mr Christie gave his two cents on her remarks.
“She’s smart and she knows better,” Mr Christie said. “And she didn’t say it because she’s a racist — because she’s not. I know her well and I don’t believe Nikki has a racist bone in her body.”
However, he added, her answer points to a larger issue with her candidacy. “But for purposes of this race, the reason she did it is just as bad, if not worse, and should make everybody concerned about her candidacy. She did it because she’s unwilling to offend anyone by telling the truth.”
The New Jersey Republican accused Ms Haley of being inconsistent about her abortion stance depending on the state she’s in.
Similarly, he added, “She’s unwilling to tell the truth about Donald Trump.”
Mr Christie then underscored how simple her response could have been. “I’ll make it easy for you. If someone asked me what the cause of the Civil War was,” he paused while the audience laughed. “It’s easy: it’s slavery.”
Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, another GOP 2024 hopeful, also weighed in on Ms Haley’s Civil War comments, saying they demonstrated she is not “ready for primetime.”
President Joe Biden replied to a video of Ms Haley’s fumble on X in just four words: “It was about slavery.”
On Thursday, Ms Haley tried to clarify her comments from the day prior. She said in a radio interview, “Of course the Civil War was about slavery….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.”
She also accused the New Hampshire voter who asked the question of being a “Democrat plant.”
