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After declaring in a video announcing her 2024 presidential bid the United States is not a "racist" or "evil" nation, former South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley found herself on the receiving end of a racist tirade from far-right firebrand Ann Coulter.
Haley reiterated the claim she made in her campaign video during an appearance in Charleston, South Carolina:
“Every day we’re told America is flawed, rotten, and full of hate."
" Joe [Biden] and Kamala [Harris] even say America is racist."
"Nothing could be further from the truth.”
“America is not a racist country.”
You can hear what Haley said in the video below.
\u201cFormer UN Ambassador Nikki Haley invokes her own boundary-breaking record on race:\n\n\u201cJoe and Kamala even say America\u2019s racist \u2026 Take it from me, the first minority female governor in history: America is not a racist country.\u201d\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1676480502
Shortly afterward however, Haley was proven wrong by Coulter.
During an appearance on The Mark Simone Show ppodcastCoulter said Haley—the daughter of Indian iimmigrants—should "go back to [her] own country." Haley was born in Bamberg, South Carolina in 1972.
Coulter attacked Haley and proceeded to feed into racist stereotypes about Indian people when she said:
“Why don’t you go back to your own country? Her candidacy did remind me that I need to immigrate to India so I can demand they start taking down parts of their history.”
“What’s with the worshipping of the cows? They’re all starving over there. Did you know they have a rat temple, where they worship rats?”
Coulter went on to call Haley a “preposterous creature” and “bimbo” and complained about Haley's decision, while still Governor of South Carolina, to take down the Confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse in the wake of a racist based mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston.
Coulter added:
“This is my country, lady. I’m not an American Indian, and I don’t like them taking down all the monuments.”
Coulter was swiftly criticized for her blatant racist and xenophobic remarks.
\u201cI\u2019m certainly no Nikki Haley fan, but Ann Coulter\u2019s racist, xenophobic rant is off the charts vile and grotesquely unAmerican\u00a0\nhttps://t.co/juGzfmUmYq\u201d— Laurence Tribe (@Laurence Tribe) 1676653667
\u201cNikki Haley: \u201cThere\u2019s no racism in this country!\u201d\n\nAnn Coulter: \u201cHold my mic.\u201d\u201d— ArmenianAbs/Mark/Personal Jesus (@ArmenianAbs/Mark/Personal Jesus) 1676675042
\u201cHere we go. The \u201cI don\u2019t see color\u201d party aka @gop\u2019s ignorant dog whistler @AnnCoulter tells @NikkiHaley to \u201cgo back to her country,\u201d insults India & Hindus. Mocking cows while US pardons turkeys. Still wanna be conservative, Desis? This is how they see us https://t.co/evFjzUh9z9\u201d— Natasha Chandel (@Natasha Chandel) 1676665057
\u201cNikki Haley said that America is not a racist Country. Ann Coulter said she should go back to her Country. Sounds pretty racist to me. #FreshWords\u201d— LanaQuest aka RosaSparks (@LanaQuest aka RosaSparks) 1676592401
\u201cNikki Haley said that America is not a racist Country. Ann Coulter said she should go back to her Country. Sounds pretty racist to me. #FreshWords\u201d— LanaQuest aka RosaSparks (@LanaQuest aka RosaSparks) 1676592401
\u201cThese racist, xenophobic comments by @AnnCoulter about former Ambassador @NikkiHaley should not come as a shock to anyone who has been following Coulter and her racist history. Nevertheless, they should be condemned by all people across party lines. https://t.co/9JkuSQLzoz\u201d— Jonathan Greenblatt (@Jonathan Greenblatt) 1676663496
\u201c\u201cCoulter made several xenophobic comments about Haley\u2026who was born in the U.S. to Indian immigrant parents. \u2018Why don't you go back to your own country?\u2019 Coulter said.\u201d\n\nI don\u2019t support Nikki Haley, but this is disgusting behavior by Coulter. https://t.co/BETAyU26Fq\u201d— Katie S. Phang (@Katie S. Phang) 1676637714
\u201cRacist harpy Ann Coulter is like conservative herpes - she flares up a couple times a year to remind you she's still awful and there is no cure.\u201d— GOP are Traitors (@GOP are Traitors) 1676612834
\u201cAnn Coulter's attacks on Nikki Haley and Indians are disgusting.\n\nShe told Haley 'to go back to your own country'. \n\nHaley was born to Indian immigrants in Bamberg, South Carolina.\n\nShe mocked Indians for worshipping cows & rats. \n\nThe GOP worships Trump, so don't get me started!\u201d— Brian Krassenstein (@Brian Krassenstein) 1676642473
That Haley faced almost immediate backlash should come as no surprise given the Republican Party's long history of employing racist rhetoric and its decision to openly court White nationalist talking points.
While Coulter is well known for spewing periodic racist remarks whether on air, on social media, in one of her books or her many social posts, Haley—born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa—has been criticized more than once for playing to her party's base despite being a woman of color.
Earlier this week, a piece in Politico by reporters Marissa Martinez and Brakkton Booker noted Haley has been performing a "complicated racial dance" by engaging with politicians and constituents who have engaged in racist tropes and commentary, particularly former Republican President Donald Trump, under whom she served as United Nations ambassador.