CORALVILLE, Iowa—People backing Nikki Haley for president say they are unconcerned about the lingering Civil War controversy surrounding her campaign.
On Dec. 27, the former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. found herself in the headlines for an answer she gave to a question at a campaign event in New Hampshire about the cause of the U.S. Civil War.
Susan Lacy, an undecided voter from Mt. Vernon, Iowa, said she thought Ms. Haley’s answer was “inartful” but “she wasn’t wrong.”
“Somebody wanted to hear it framed in a certain way,” Ms. Lacy said. “(They) were creating a problem.”
Ms. Lacy, who said she is leaning toward supporting Ms. Haley, said Ms. Haley’s appeal is that she isn’t perpetually wrapped in controversy like former President Donald Trump. President Trump is the current frontrunner in Iowa and national polling for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination.
Another supporter, Marc Daniels from Springfield, Illinois, said he made the more than three-hour trip by car to see Ms. Haley speak because he felt strongly that both the Civil War question and the following coverage were nonsense.
Mr. Daniels, who is Jewish and brought custom-made campaign buttons in English and Hebrew as well as a number of Haley 2024 kippot which Ms. Haley signed, said he backs Ms. Haley’s candidacy because she is “genuine” and a candidate that can unite the party.
“We should not be worried so much about wars that happened in the (19th century),” Mr. Daniels said. “We should be worried about electing a candidate that can unite and drive our country forward with a new vision.”
Mr. Daniels said Ms. Haley’s decision to bring down the Confederate States of America battle flag in 2015 after nine Black churchgoers were killed in Charleston, South Carolina, speaks more to her character than her response to the question on Dec. 27. That flag had been flown in Columbia, South Carolina, since 1961. Ms. Haley was governor of the Palmetto State from 2011 until 2017.
Iowa, New Hampshire Vote In Days
The week of Dec. 24 through Dec. 31, Ms. Haley campaigned in New Hampshire and Iowa. She spoke on Dec. 30 at the Iowa Athletic Club in Coralville, Iowa, before attending a University of Iowa Women’s Basketball game. Ms. Haley was also scheduled to participate in a town hall in nearby Cedar Rapids, Iowa, later on Saturday.The Haley campaign does not currently have any more campaign events scheduled.
The Republican Party of Iowa will hold its caucuses on the evening of Jan. 15. New Hampshire will hold its presidential primary on Jan. 23.
Ms. Haley mentioned President Trump, saying she supported him at the time and thought he was the right man for the job when he was in office. However, Ms. Haley said President Trump only brings chaos with him, and a rematch of the 2020 presidential election would be a “nailbiter.”
