CNN's Charles Barkley couldn't help but laugh Thursday as he heard presidential candidate Nikki Haley proclaim that America has “never been a racist country.” .
The former basketball player regained his composure and slammed the Republican candidate's comments, calling them “just a stupid act.”
“If you forget about slavery, Jim Crow, racism, anti-Semitism, anti-Asian hatred that's going on in this country, she's 100% right. America was smooth sailing,” Berkeley said. said, eliciting several laughs from “King Charles” co-host Gayle King.
They watched footage of the former South Carolina governor making the outlandish claim during an interview with Fox & Friends when host Brian Kilmeade asked him if the Republican Party is a racist party. Ta.
While acknowledging that she experienced racism firsthand as an Indian American woman, Haley maintained that the country has since evolved to achieve equality across race, gender and social class.
“We are not a racist nation, Brian. We have never been a racist nation,” she said.
“I know that I faced racism as a child. But what I can tell you is that we are much better today than we were then. Our goal is to “It's uplifting. Don't divide people by race, gender, political affiliation, etc. We're tired of that in America,” she added.
After airing the footage, King told Berkeley that CNN polled several people on the street and found that not a single person agreed with the presidential candidate's ideas.
King added that it was “surprising” for Haley to make such a comment, a statement that her campaign would later double down on.
“Well, no, don't be surprised. That was just stupid. America is built on racism,” Berkeley said.
“Listen, you can criticize the country. This is the greatest country in the world, but you can still criticize it…Every day you turn on the TV, there's racism. And you want to be president of the United States. For her, someone who would say such a stupid thing is unthinkable. It is unthinkable that racism does not exist in this country.
“I was very disappointed in what she said, because it was 100% wrong,” he said.
Haley's campaign issued the statement following backlash accusing the media of misinterpreting her words.
Her campaign emphasized that “there has always been racism in America, but America has never been a racist country.”
“The liberal media has always failed to understand that distinction. Sometimes it throws a fit, but America continues to thrive because its people are always striving to be better and live up to our founding ideals of freedom and equality. Nicki's belief in being special remains unchanged,” the statement said.
Haley previously faced criticism for refusing to name slavery as the main cause of the Civil War during a town hall last month.
Although she argued that the roots of the war lay in the restrictions the government imposed on its people, she did not mention in her response the “special system” of the antebellum South.
In response to the backlash, Haley insisted that slavery was the “natural” cause, adding that she thought it was a “natural” cause.
Haley placed third in last weekend's Iowa caucuses, trailing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has consistently posted similar results in recent weeks.
Former President Donald Trump emerged as the clear winner in the caucuses, as predicted by recent polls.
