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.
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.
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.
@EdwardLawrence/X